Use your noodle!
Spiralizing with spring flavors
W ant to eat more veggies? Noodle around with spiralized sweet potato, squash, beets, carrots and more. Better yet, pair them with spring flavors for a tasty lunch, dinner or side dish.
“Instead of eating pasta, you can eat pasta made out of vegetables,” explained chef Johanna Outwin, who often demonstrates the technique.
“It’s something fun,” said the cooking coordinator at Kitchen Kapers Cooking School. “You’re able to play with your food.”
Find packaged veggie noodles in the produce section or start small at home.
“While a good [spiral vegetable slicer] is wonderful, it certainly is an investment,” admitted physician assistant Jessica DeLuise, founder of Eat Your Way to Wellness in Conshohocken. “Taking your vegetable peeler, you can make really beautiful ribbons and see if you like it first.”
She helps clients plan healthy meals like zucchini noodles with pea pesto.
“I am a big advocate for the simpler the better,” DeLuise said. “Healthy food does not have to be complicated or time consuming.”
Spiralizing “is the simplest thing to do,” agreed registered, licensed dietitian Judy Matusky, a food and nutrition blogger in Ardmore. “It’s just such a pretty presentation. It’s something different and light you can add to your plate.”
Try her veggie noodles with hummussesame dressing.
“You get the volume from the vegetables just as you would if you were using pasta with significantly lower calories,” she added.
Not only is it helpful for weight loss, but also “good for people who have a gluten issue,” said personal chef Lynn Lampe Lindquist of Cook on Call. “I think it’s something that fills a really great need.”
Celebrate spring with oodles of so-called zoodles. She pairs zucchini noodles with pine nuts, parsley, lemon and honey goat cheese.
“It gives you great texture with the pine nuts,” described Lindquist, also an instructor at Delaware County Community College and Valley Forge Flowers. “Usually, I don’t even cook my noodles. I serve it raw, so it’s a raw whole food.”
Back at Kitchen Kapers, Outwin suggested one more dish to noodle over: spiralized cucumber and cherry tomato salad.
“Everybody’s eating salad because summer’s coming,” she said. “You need to get into that bathing suit!”
Veggie Noodles with HummusSesame Dressing INGREDIENTS
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 large sweet potato
2 scallions, chopped
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup red pepper hummus
1½ tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1½ teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons orange juice Salt and pepper to taste Dash of hot sauce, if desired Toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Spiralize zucchini, yellow squash and sweet potato with a spiral vegetable slicer to make vegetable noodles, or you can use a vegetable peeler to make vegetable ribbons. Place sweet potato noodles in a microwavable steamer and steam them in the microwave for 1 minute or until slightly softened. Steam the zucchini and squash noodles in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds. Combine the vegetable noodles, scallions (reserving some of the green ends for garnish) and sun-dried tomatoes in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine hummus, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey and orange juice. Whisk until combined. Toss the hummus dressing with vegetable noodles. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with toasted sesame seeds, chopped scallions and a dash of hot sauce, if desired. Makes about 6 cups. RECIPE COURTESY OF JUDYMATUSKY.COM
Zucchini Noodles with Goat Cheese Sauce INGREDIENTS
1 pound zucchini noodles
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
6 ounces honey goat cheese Zest of
1 lemon
2 tablespoons minced parsley Lemon oil
INSTRUCTIONS
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add zucchini noodles to the water and blanch for 30 seconds. If serving warm, remove noodles from the water and drain well. Put noodles into a serving bowl and toss in the goat cheese, lemon zest, parsley and lemon oil. Gently toss the ingredients to incorporate. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Sprinkle with pine nuts. The goat cheese will melt slightly and act as a sauce. If serving cold, remove the noodles from the boiling water and plunge into an ice bath. Remove noodles from water and drain well. Continue with recipe as above starting with the serving bowl step. RECIPE COURTESY OF COOK ON CALL