Friday, April 25, 2014

Lightly cooked zucchini noodles with a tomato basil sauce

In my zucchini noodle experiments to date, I have used the noodles fresh and raw. To be honest, it never occurred to me to eat them in any other way. Recently, though, I saw a reference to zucchini noodles being lightly cooked. Last week, I decided to give that approach a go, and added noodles to a hot pan for just under 2 minutes. The result? Slightly softened, nicely warmed noodles that were a lovely change from the standard raw variety.


Complementing the noodles were tomatoes, basil, sherry vinegar and nutritional yeast. The flavours were wonderful. Broccoli and tofu featured too, as did a smattering of other herbs. If you had sun dried tomatoes to hand, I think they would be an excellent addition (or replacement for fresh tomatoes) as well.


All in all, this was an easy, satisfying, nutrition-packed meal that took under 15 minutes to prepare. I recommend it! If you don't have a vegetable spiralizer, you can make the zucchini noodles using a julienne peeler as shown here.


Lightly cooked zucchini noodles with a tomato basil sauce
Makes one very generous serving (how I ate it!), or two small servings
Vegan and gluten free

Author: Bite-sized thoughts


Ingredients
150g firm tofu, pressed and cut into squares
1 small head broccoli, cut into florets
1 punnet (250g) cherry tomatoes, cut in half, or 1/4 to 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes
2 tbsp sherry vinegar (or red wine or balsamic vinegar)
Small handful fresh basil leaves (or 1/2 tsp dry)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Pinch chilli flakes
Pinch salt
Few cracks of black pepper
1/2 tbsp + 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast, divided
1 large zucchini

Oil, as needed, for cooking

Method
Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat and cook the tofu until golden, several minutes on each side.

Add the broccoli, tomatoes, sherry vinegar, basil, oregano, chilli flakes, salt, pepper and 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast to the pan. Stir ingredients well to combine. Reduce heat to low while you prepare the zucchini.

Using a vegetable spiralizer or julienne peeler, create thin zucchini noodles. When ready, add to the pan with the other ingredients. Increase heat to medium high and cook for 2 minutes (or so) before serving.

Top with the reserved 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast, and extra black pepper if desired.

Submitted to Healthy Vegan Fridays.

Have you tried zucchini noodles cooked? 

--
This post isn't Anzac-related, but today is the day for remembering and honouring the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Their efforts, and the lives lost fighting, should never be forgotten.
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16 comments:

  1. I am now wondering where that funny peeler someone gave me - maybe it is julienne though it just seemed like a dangerous weapon so maybe not - these do look very good - hope you had a good ANZAC day - I was very pleased to managed to bake ANZAC biscuits though it was far later than I had planned

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    1. You did better than I did :-) I didn't bake any this year, and think the close proximity of Easter and ANZAC day made it a little harder to do both justice - which is a shame, as this will be our last Australian ANZAC day for a while!

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    2. Maybe you will feel more inclined to make ANZACs in the UK when you are probably less likely to encounter them or so much about ANZAC Day. I agree that Easter and ANZAC Day close together made it harder to celebrate both

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    3. You're right, I will probably become extra patriotic when overseas. We will have lamingtons regularly and ANZAC biscuits every April.

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  2. Since I got my spiralizer, zucchini noodles have fast become one of my favourite quick dinners. I definitely prefer lightly cooking mine as well, or at least letting them marinate in my sauce of choice for a bit. So much softer!

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    1. Absolutely! And probably easier to digest too :-)

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  3. I've never tried cooked zucchini noodles before, but now that you mention it, it totally makes sense! This meal is one I know I will enjoy! I've also been meaning to ask you, Kari. What book have you read recently? Any recommendations? With the semester almost over, reading for pleasure sounds like the perfect way to de-stress!

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    Replies
    1. I'm so thrilled you think of me as a source of book ideas :-) The best thing would be to check out my Goodreads page! You can see it at http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4617513-kari and it shows my recent books as well as all time favourites. I hope you find something you like!

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  4. Thank you for the link, Kari! Going through the list, I remember you sharing with us how much you enjoyed reading "The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared." It shall be my next read ;). What are you going to read next, do you know?

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    1. Oh, super! I did love that book - I hope you enjoy it too :-) I'm actually visiting our local library today because I have run out of books at home! I'm looking forward to picking some things off the shelf.

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  5. It's always interesting to read about other countries' holidays and commemorations!
    And omgness, this sounds so good! I love cooked zucchini and pretty much everything on here...I'm thinking of making this with a twist just because I'm missing some ingredients, hehe. But I know I'll love it esp. since I'm trying to clean my diet just a tad!

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    1. It's definitely a great dish for delivering maximum nutrition :-) Enjoy adapting it, I think it's always fun to put your own twist on something!

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  6. I have to admit that I prefer zoodles a bit cooked :-)

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  7. Zucchini noodles are a terrific healthy alternative to traditional noodles.

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  8. Now I want a vegetable spiralizer! What a lovely looking dish Kari, that's full of colour. I love how there's a splash of sherry vinegar in there. I'll have to look out for nutritional yeast - that's a new one for me! xx

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