I like to eat, eat, eat zoodles and courgetti

Much like fashion, music and home decor, food seems to follow trends. Kale salad springs to mind, the ubiquitous chewy must have of a few years ago. Bacon seemed to regain a huge following again, turning up in such strange concoctions as bacon donuts. But, very recently, the spiralized craze began happening and everywhere we looked, zucchini became the 'it' vegetable due to it's remarkable ability to resemble spaghetti once spiralized. It doesn't stop with the humble courgette either. Sweet potatoes, cucumber, even carrots are all masquerading as low carb pasta and noodles. I'm a little late to the trend, although I've tried the 'zoodles' plain with butter and a little garlic, sauteed slowly until softened, but not as the base for a sauce or soup. Last week I tried them with a traditional tomato pasta sauce and today I made a spicy beef laksa.

When I was a low carb dieter nobody suggested using zucchini as spaghetti. I was stuck using dreamfields pasta which made some outlandish claims about being low carb, (not true) or miracle noodles, slimy transparent noodles with a fish odour, (they weren't bad once cooked). Someone suggested spaghetti squash could be used as a good alternative. No thanks. Zucchini noodles are not spaghetti, egg noodles or soba, they simply don't have the same meaty mouth feel, but none the less, they are healthy, tasty and very good at soaking up other flavours.

For this recipe I used strong flavours such as anchovies, wild mushrooms and tomato paste. I love pasta with a good salty sauce. Add lots of grated Parmesan, maybe some olives and capers and I'm happy.

Recipe : Courgetti with anchovies, wild mushrooms and asparagus

1/2 regular sized zucchini, spiralized
1 tbsp olive oil and 2 tsp butter
2 anchovies from a tin
3 stalks of asparagus, finely sliced
1/2 bell pepper, any colour, finely sliced
a handful of mushrooms, sliced or halved
1 and 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
dash of white wine or Marsala or dry sherry
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

For this recipe you will need a spiralizer. Here's a link to one I bought from Amazon. It's really cheap and does the job every time.

Spiralize your zucchini and set aside.

Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan over medium to high heat and add the anchovy. Fry, stirring frequently, until the anchovy has almost dissolved into the butter.

Add the pepper, asparagus and mushrooms and saute until softened.

Add the wine or sherry and tomato paste and stir well. Reduce the heat and allow to cook, gently for a few minutes.

Season with salt and pepper and then add the zucchini, stirring well. Add a little more butter if the mixture seems a little dry. Cook until the zucchini has slightly softened and serve with lots and lots of Parmesan sprinkled over.

 

With a piece of flank steak sitting in the fridge, I thought up this recipe for lunch. I have never understood people who say they would never make such an effort to cook for themselves. I see no greater joy or grateful recipient than myself when cooking, I can make whatever I desire to my own exact tastes. 

Recipe : Beef laksa with zoodles

1/2 zucchini, spiralized

1 tin coconut milk, (do not shake)

1 tbsp Thai curry paste of your choice

2 tsp brown or cane sugar

1 cup vegetables, chopped small. (I used purple cauliflower, kale and spinach)

100 g protein. (I used steak. You could use chicken, pork, fish or eggs etc).

1 tbsp fish sauce

juice of one lime

1 chili, deseeded and sliced

a few sprigs of Thai or regular basil

Spiralize the zucchini and set aside

Heat a frying pan until hot with a little oil and fry your protein until cooked to your liking. Set aside and keep warm.

Open the can of coconut milk and carefully scoop all of the thick cream from the top into a pan. Add the curry paste and sugar and cook, stirring frequently over a medium heat until well combined and starting to bubble slightly.

Add the rest of the can of coconut milk, stir well then add the vegetables. Bring to a very slow boil, reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer until the vegetables have softened. 

Season the soup with the fish sauce, lime juice and a little more sugar if you like and then add the zucchini. Allow to simmer until softened slightly also.

Ladle the soup into a bowl and thinly slice your protein to add to the top. 

Scatter the chili and basil on top and dig in.

  Have a nice weekend.....

You may also like:

Pink Thai soup

Tom Yum Soup

Tom Ka soup