Zucchini "Pasta"

Zucchini is a really versatile vegetable. I love its texture and its light sweetness and you can use it for practically anything. I've incorporated zucchini into stir fry, crudités (as in raw), tempura fried, as stuffing for peppers, and its often used in baking. The zucchini fruit is low in calories (approximately 15 food calories per 100 g fresh zucchini) and contains useful amounts of folate, potassium, manganese, and vitamin A. 


Zucchini pasta actually does not include ANY pasta. Instead, the zucchini is julienned into thin strips and cooked quickly so that the zucchini obtains the flexibility and texture of spaghetti. Technically, this is a more difficult dish - especially if you don't have a mandolin - and will require really good knife skills. Or, you can cheat and use a vegetable peeler. Note that the recipe can easily be made gluten free by omitting the homemade croutons.

Zucchini "Pasta"
Makes 2 side dish sized portions


1 zucchini
1 tomato
1/2 red onion (or 4 inches of leek for me)
Olive oil
1 mozzarella stick
2 slices white bread
Handful walnuts

1. Prep ingredients. Mince garlic. Slice onion (leek) into thin strips. Julienne the zucchini into linguine sized strips. Dice tomatoes and a mozz stick. Dice bread (think croutons) and chop walnuts. To make the zucchini and leek uniform in size, take a vegetable peeler and make long even strokes. This way, you get even lengthwise slices, which you can slice into narrower strips on a cutting board. This works great with leeks, carrots, and other fibrous vegetable. This cannot be done with the onion, however, as they have too much water.
2. Turn saute pan to medium heat. Add a teaspoon of butter. Toast bread and walnuts until crunchy and fragrant. Sprinkle with salt and oregano.
3. Remove croutons and walnuts from pan, allow to cool on a plate lined with a paper towel. Try to avoid eating them all while cooking zucchini.
4. In same pan, add a teaspoon and a half olive oil. Saute garlic and onion/leek. 
5. Allow to cook until translucent, then add tomatos and zucchini. Cook until zucchini is soft. Immediately remove from heat and plate (the zucchini will continue to cook). Top with diced mozzarella, croutons, and walnuts.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta (Ratatouille Version)

I love roasted vegetables, but I'm not a fan of waiting forever or using the oven for just one purpose. So I like to make this recipe when I'm baking or toasting and maximize my home's utility. This pasta dish is super easy and you can literally forget about it in the oven, which makes it almost fool proof!

The roasted vegetable pasta can be served hot or cold. Since there is no sauce, there shouldn't be any worry about overly soggy pasta. Mix and match your favorite vegetables and toss in fresh herbs as desired.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta (Ratatouille Version)
Serves 3 entree portions, up to 6 side portions
Cook time: 2 hours (really you're only working 30 min)

1 small eggplant
1 zucchini
2 red peppers
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
Teaspoon dried basil (or several large leaves of fresh)
Half teaspoon dried oregano
Half teaspoon paprika
Teaspoon salt (add more to taste)
2.5 cups dry elbow or bow tie pasta
Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Optional: mozzarella cubes, sage, diced onion, fresh tomato, mushrooms, etc

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the rack in the middle.
2. Wash and prep the vegetables. Cut the eggplant and zucchini into 3/4 inch cubes. Slice red peppers into 2 inch long strips. Basically, keep things around the same size as your pasta. Crush and rough chop the garlic.
3. Toss the vegetables and garlic into a glass baking dish. Slowly drizzle two tablespoons olive oil over the vegetables, then season the vegetables with the basil, oregano, paprika, and salt. Mix. Drizzle with more oil until all vegetables are coated evenly. Try to keep all the vegetables in a spread out, thin layer in the pan. Scrape vegetables away from the sides of the dish.
4. Roast the vegetables for 40 minutes. Take out the vegetables, stir the mixture, pat down into a thin layer, and continue baking for 20 minutes, until all vegetables are tender. (I needed a smidge more baking time than this, so do tweak as you see fit)
5. While the vegetables finish roasting, prepare pasta as per instructions. (Usually, 2 quarts water to boil with a teaspoon of salt. Toss in pasta, stir, and cook until al dente, or cooked through with some chew still in it). Drain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking process. Toss to avoid it sticking together.
6. In a large serving dish, spread drained pasta. Add the vegetable mix (including any residual olive oil/veggie matter) to the pasta and mix well. The olive oil in the veggies should keep the pasta from sticking to itself.
7. Add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, mix, and taste. Tweak seasonings as you see fit.
8. Add mozzarella, parmesan, or whatever you like! Serve hot or cooled.