Perfect Zucchini Noodles (Zoodles)

I have a new toy. And it makes preparing dinner fun. Yes, F-U-N. It's this little guy - the spiral vegetable slicer - also known as the spiralizer.

It's pretty simple to use - you just insert the blade you want to use, press the zucchini between the prongs on the handle and the corer on the blade, and start turning. There are suction cups on the feet that keep it in place as you work.

Look at the gorgeous, perfect noodles you get. I used to use a hand julienne tool and it mostly just made shredded vegetables that would turn to mush in the pan because they were so thin. These "zoodles" are more like spaghetti, thick and sturdy. And you can slice an entire zucchini in less than a minute.

Okay, enough with sounding like an infomercial, how about a recipe for dinner? These are zucchini noodles in a garlic & oil sauce.

You'll need:

A medium-sized zucchini - one should feed two people
Cooking oil - I used coconut oil
Minced garlic
Chili flakes
Grated parmesan cheese
Salt

First you'll want to make your spiral noodles. Zucchini contains a lot of water so you'll want to get rid of as much as possible. Wet noodles can result in mushy pasta. No one wants mushy pasta. Grab a colander and put your noodles in it.

Sprinkle a generous amount of salt on the noodles to draw out the water. I like to layer the noodles and salt so that they all get covered - 1/3 of the noodles, sprinkle your salt, 1/3 more, sprinkle again, etc. Leave the noodles to sit for at least 30 minutes. Make sure your colander is in the sink or has a paper towel under it to catch the liquid.

Once they have drained enough (or you can't wait any longer because you're hungry), take the noodles out and press them between some paper towels or a clean dish towel to remove the last of the water. Be gentle though, they can squish easily!

Now for the sauce. Heat up some oil in a frying pan - I'd estimate about 2 tablespoons per zucchini. Add minced garlic, and chili flakes if you like it hot. You don't want the garlic to burn - keep the temperature low, just lightly sautéing it, stirring often. Add your zucchini noodles and stir them gently, making sure they are completely covered with the oil & garlic mixture. I only cook them long enough to get warm - barely more than a minute, because I like them to retain a bit of "crunch". Judge for yourself how long you'd like them to cook. Sprinkle on your parmesan and stir again.

Plate up your noodles and add a bit more parmesan on top if you'd like. I used a parmesan and herb blend, hence the darker colour.

See how easy that was? If you'd like a heartier meal you could add bacon or ground beef (cook them separately), and some garlic toast to sop up the leftover garlic and oil.

This is one of my favourite meals.

Since getting the spiralizer we've also made butterfly chips (spiral home fries), and shredded sweet potatoes for grain-free hamburger "buns". I'll share that recipe with you soon. Go get yourself a spiralizer!