Granny Fabulosa: zucchini

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Zoodles

I'll bet you can guess what's been in my CSA box lately. 'Tis the season for zucchini. Lots and lots and lots of zucchini! Don't get me wrong; it's one of my favorite vegetables. I love...

slicing it horizontally into thin strips and marinating it in a little olive oil, garlic and lemon juice, and then grilling it ever so lightly. Delicious!
grilling skewers of round zucchinii chunks, cherry tomatoes and onion wedges.
zucchini breads and muffins...

But what I really love is making zoodles, Zucchini noodles. Healthy, low-calorie, gluten-free... and really, really fun to make if you have one of these...

This is my spiral slicer. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My sprial slicer is my best friend. It is my... oops. Got carried away there for a second!

My slicer is a Paderno World Cuisine Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer that I bought off of Amazon for about 35 bucks, as a matter of fact. And I like it.

You most definitely can make zoodles without one. (But what fun is that, I ask you?)

I'm not going to belabor this. You pop a zucchini into the slicer, turn the crank, and watch the magic happen. Children love to help with this, and what better way to get them interested in eating a vegetable? (Just keep little fingers at the handle end and away from the blades.)

In no time at all, you've got a huge pile of perfectly-sliced -- and may I just point out, really pretty -- zoodles.

So, how do you cook these things? Well, actually you don't. I've tried lightly boiling them like noodles, and they just go all limp and soggy. I recommend "warming them" in a pan with a bit of salt and a little butter. Maybe some sauteed garlic. Some fresh basil is really good. A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese or whatever.