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Healthy Pasta Recipe
If you love pasta but can do without regular intake of refined carbohydrates, give this recipe a try - it calls for noodles that are made by thinly slicing raw zucchini into long strips; many raw food enthusiasts have long enjoyed zucchini noodles in place of conventional flour-based varieties.
The easiest way to make raw zucchini noodles is to use a special spiral slicer. There many different brands of spiral slicers on the market that you can view here: Spiralizer.
Here's a picture of some zucchini noodles that I made the other day with our Spiralo:
If you don't have access to a spiral slicer, you can always quarter a zucchini length-wise, and then cut the thinnest, long strips possible with your knife - this takes more work than using a spiral slicer, but it can produce similar results.
Zucchini is naturally abundant in a number of nutrients that make it an excellent food choice for disease prevention. Zucchini is particularly rich in manganese, vitamin C, magnesium, and of course, fiber.
I hope you enjoy the following recipe!
Raw Zucchini Noodles with Marinara Sauce Recipe
Serves 3 to 4
Ingredients:
6 to 8 firm zucchini
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 1/2 cups blended tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Sea salt, to taste
Directions:
1. Use a spiralizer to make thin, long noodles out of zucchini. If you don't have a spiral slicer, use a sharp knife to quarter zucchini length-wise, and cut the thinnest strips possible.
If possible, make zucchini noodles about six hours before serving, and let noodles sit in a bowl, uncovered, at room temperature - this improves the texture of the noodles.
2. Use a good blender to combine all of the other ingredients, and blend until desired consistency is reached.
3. When noodles are ready, combine pasta sauce with noodles, give the noodles and sauce a good toss, and serve. This zucchini noodle pasta dish goes really well with a side of avocado.
If you have a different recipe that calls for zucchini noodles, please consider sharing with other readers via the comments section below. Thank you.
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Comments
pasta substitutes
I find that using bean sprouts works very well and if they are too crunchy for you, parboil them or just use Jerusalem artichoke pasta.
Zucchini Pasta recipe
Here is another zucchini pasta recipe similar to the first, but not as healthy. I am sure that something could be substituted for the Italian sausage or it could be omitted altogether.
4 small-medium zucchinis
2 Tbs olive oil
1 large garlic clove, pressed
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 lb. cooked Italian sausage, cut up (optional)
salt and pepper
fresh torn basil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Slice unpeeled zucchini into ribbons using vegetable peeler, turning as you go. Put 1 T. olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. When it's warm, add garlic. Suate briefly and add tomatoes and oregano. Simmer uncovered for a few minutes. Meawhile, heat the remeaining T. olive oil in large skillet. When hot, add zucchini and stir several minutes until soft and edges are clear. Add salt and pepper, then mix in the sauce. Add sausage and stir well. Stir in basil and transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle parmesan over the top.
Zucchini Lasagne
If you have zukes growing in a home garden, don't be afraid to let them get large, so that you can get more nutrition from each plant. Large zucchini can be stuffed and baked or just cut and used like small ones; the seeds are larger, but not tough.
One of our favorite ways to use large zucchini is to make lasagna; in place of lasagna noodles, just use long, thin slices of raw zucchini in a regular lasagna recipe to assemble the lasagna before it is baked. It is absolutely delicious, and even the most fussy and dubious of my guests have enjoyed it heartily, including the "I don't eat vegetables" folks. This works well for people who are on a high protein, low carb regimen, and could easily be adapted for those who want to eliminate the protein (but it won't be as yummy!). We actually like it better than traditional lasagna.