August 28, 2013
By Anna Varriano
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My family does its best to avoid wheat, starchy grains, and anything made from them. That includes spaghetti, and for many families, spaghetti is a quick and inexpensive meal. Many of my clients who are avoiding grains, in particular wheat, say the one thing they sometimes miss is spaghetti. With this recipe, you can have your spaghetti and eat it too! I’m Italian, and I can honestly say that this recipe is a delicious alternative to grain-based spaghetti. Enjoy!
Zucchini is a great veggie to turn in to spaghetti! Since it has such a mild taste, it will take on the flavour of whatever sauce you mix it with. This time around, I used a tomato sauce, and raw milk, sheep feta and minced, fresh mint as toppings. This recipe idea is courtesy of my daughter. I prepared the zucchini, she did the rest!
Step 1: Prep
First you need to get yourself one of these – a julienne peeler. You can find them just about anywhere kitchen gadgets are sold. I picked this one up for about $7.00. You can buy more professional ones that will allow you to julienne just about everything. A mandolin would work too.
Next, you need to get yourself some zucchini (there were loads in our garden when we made this). We used green and yellow ones. 1.5 to 2 small to medium sized zucchini is plenty for one moderate serving, or two smaller ones. To start julienning, put the zucchini on its side on a flat surface like a cutting board, and run the peeler along its length. You’ll get lovely long strands. Continue until you hit the seeds, then repeat on all sides.
Yellow one done! Now on to the green one to add some colour. I love this peeler! It’s so easy and fun! Oh oh….I think I’m going to be julienning everything in sight for the next few days…
All done! I just used one yellow and one green zucchini. It was enough for 2 small servings (or one larger serving). I bet carrots, or yams, or butternut squash would be yummy to add – and also make it more colourful (especially if you used a few heritage carrots!).
Step 2: Cooking
Sauté the julienned zucchini in a large skillet over medium-low heat with a few tablespoons of olive oil and one clove of crushed or minced garlic. Stir and sauté until soft, but still a bit crisp (like ‘al dente’ spaghetti). My daughter cooked these ones for just under 5 minutes.
We had some left over tomato sauce, so we heated it up in a separate pot and then stirred it in to the pan. We’ve also used a putanesca sauce – our favourite red sauce.
Step 3: Garnishing
Now for the ‘sprinkles’! Crumbled feta made from raw sheep milk (thank you Canreg Station Farm & Pasture Dairy!), and minced fresh mint (also loads of that in our backyard right now!). The perfect meal for a hot summer night (well, any night actually!).
Quick, easy, and so fresh! Enjoy and experiment with your favourite pasta sauce and toppings.
Let me know what you come up with and how you like it!
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