The Family Table: Zucchini noodles? Why not!
Necessity, as they say, is the mother of all inventions.
And it was definitely necessary for me to find a way to use the giant zucchinis that Jurassic Garden continued to produce.
Were I Momma Joyce, I certainly could have turned the pounds of green squash into mock apple pie, or the sweet chocolate bread and spice bars that she recently brought to our office to share. Unfortunately, if it involves strict measuring, it doesn’t involve me.
Fried zucchini, stuffed zucchini and sauted zucchini have all been done, done and done. Frankly, I think my family was getting tired of the same old thing.
I needed something new and unique.
I’d seen recipes for vegetable noodles before, using a spiralizer. Those gadgets turn squash, carrots, potatoes — any veggie really — into “noodles” that you can substitute for pasta in any dish. While I didn’t have one, I consulted with the Internet about how to make due. Turns out, in a pinch, a vegetable peeler works just fine. While it might not make the fancy looking noodles that the spiralizer does, shaving a zucchini down with a peeler makes thinner, more quickly cooked ones.
That proved a boon last week when I needed to get dinner on the table, and us out the door to watch the parent preview show for the marching band at Gabe’s school. Since my mom came up to watch the show with us, I tasked her with helping to noodle-ize the zucchini while I cooked up the shrimp and made the sauce.
In all, the meal took less than 30 minutes to assemble, and clocked in at far fewer calories than the traditional version. While it didn’t taste identical to take out, it was, for me, a great way to utilize the zucchini, save some calories and get a delicious, healthy meal on the table.
Zucchini pad Thai
1, 3 or 4-pound zucchini
2 red peppers, sliced into thin matchsticks
1 bag shredded carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 scallions, whites and greens sliced
2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Hot pepper flakes to taste
1/4 cup crushed peanuts
Chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper
Peel the zucchini into ribbons using a vegetable peeler. Keep peeling until you get to the seeds, and stop there. It will look like you have a huge pile of zucchini that no family would possibly be able to eat — but don’t worry, it will cook down. Set the peeled “noodles” aside in a bowl. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and saut茅 until just done. Remove from the pan and set aside. Combine the lime juice, soy, fish sauce, sugar and pepper flakes. Over medium heat, saut茅 the peppers, carrots, onion and garlic for a couple minutes, just until they’re starting to soften. Add the zucchini and saut茅 another minute or two. Add the shrimp and the sauce and stir to combine. Top with crushed peanuts and cilantro, and add another squirt of lime juice if desired.