Lemme just say when deciding to venture into Paleo-land I knew ditching pasta was going to be hard. For a long time I grew up on pasta dishes as my step-father is Italian. Then, when I was a newly minted adult, I was broke, so I learned to make spaghetti and I learned to make it very well. Fortunately I’m a bit older and marginally wiser so I learned from my TV culinary library (Food Network) which I have been a dedicated viewer of for nearly 15 years. Wow, FIFTEEN YEARS?!
Anyway.
Turns out you can hook up a very good pasta substitute using fresh zucchini! Winning!
You’ll also need a mandoline (or superhuman knife skills)
Start by setting up your mandoline for ‘julienne’ cutting. You can use as thick or thin of settings as you like but I recommend something close to fettuccine. Slice up all of you zucchini, personally I don’t mind slicing all the way through, seeds and all. Sometimes the seeds can cause your ‘noodles’ to break up a little. If that doesn’t bother you then slice ‘em all up. If you want your ‘noodles’ to stay in long strands slice down to just before you start cutting into the seeds all the way around for each. You won’t get as much yield this way but your dish will be prettier.
Toss the zucchini slices in 2 tablespoons of salt and place in a colander. The salt will pull out some moisture and make them more noodle-like. Let them sit for 15 minutes or so then spread out on paper towels to dab dry. They don’t need to be completely dry but getting the excess water off will help the cooking process.
Mince the garlic (I like to slice it thin though. The extra surface area helps prevent burning and I like that) and put in in your pan with the olive oil. You want the pan to be off the heat when you start. Begin heating up the pan on medium, bringing up the temp with the garlic in the oil will infuse the oil with vampire-repelling goodness! While that’s heating up finely dice the shallot and toss it in the pan too. Just before the garlic starts to brown (you do not want the garlic to start to brown; that means it’s about to burn and that’s a fail.) put in your ‘noodles’ and toss to coat with the oil. Sautee the zucchini noodles for 5 minutes or so, tossing constantly. The amount of cook time will greatly depend on your cut size.
Almost done. Now you have some options; you can either toss in some fresh herbs or sprinkle in some Parmesan or season with some black pepper. Chances are good that it will have enough salt already but taste it and adjust accordingly.
That’s it. Serve in a large serving bowl and garnish with herbs, Parmesan or whatever you added to it and bask in the glory of making a dish that is every bit as good as fettuccine without all the evil grain demons.
Serve this as is or top it with some awesome Bolagnese sauce!
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