It's summer, the time of year when the garden starts to get away from us...and that means it's giant zucchini time, and that means a million variations of my new favorite: zucchini noodles.
I admit when I first heard about this concept, I was dubious. I love zucchini--but substitute it for noodles? Are you crazy? Why would you want to?
Then I went raw (or raw-ish, anyway) and noodles went off the menu. Until I got a Spiralizer. That's when things got interesting. It takes like 15 seconds to make a huge bowl of noodles, and maybe 15 minutes to whip up a tasty sauce. Chop some veggies, and you've got a great, filling, fun to eat dinner. You can twirl these noodles on your fork. No lie.
If you have a zucchini (and I know you do!), a few staples, and a blender, you can make dinner in seconds flat. Here are two sauces to get you started.
THAI CASHEW CREAM SAUCE
½ cup cashews (not pre-soaked*)
1 large sweet bell pepper: red, orange or yellow
Large chunk of ginger
1 or 2 dates
1 or 2 fresh chili peppers (to your taste)
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp tamari
Handful of fresh herbs, especially basil and cilantro
Blend all ingredients except the herbs until smooth. Let stand while you prepare the noodles and veggies, then blend again until creamy and very smooth. Add the fresh herbs and process just long enough to chop them up. Taste for seasoning. A little agave nectar may be added if you like a sweeter sauce.
*using un-soaked cashews gives a thicker sauce.
SIMPLE RAW PUTTANESCA
4-6 Red ripe tomatoes
6 sundried tomato halves
2 tbsp dry red wine
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp capers
2 tbsp chopped green and black olives
Splash of olive oil
Fresh ground black pepper
Sea salt to taste (omit if using capers preserved in salt)
Handful of fresh herbs, including basil, sage, parsley, rosemary and oregano
Pinch of ground allspice
In a high speed blender, coarsely blend the tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, garlic and wine. Let the mixture rest while you prep the other ingredients (10 minutes or so), to give the sun dried tomatoes a chance to soften. Whir the sauce again until thick and nearly smooth, then add the herbs, capers, olives, black pepper, allspice, and olive oil. Blend just enough to chop the herbs. Taste and correct for seasoning.
