The traditional Italian pasta made, usually from eggs and flour, is an ingredient present in all the world’s cuisines and that warms the heart of any person, besides being an effortless dish to be prepared.
Because in everyday life, sometimes there is no time to make a very complete and elaborate meal, and it is in these hours that good pasta garlic and oil, bolognese or with bechamel sauce, comes to save!
But let’s convince ourselves that eating pasta always, every day or every time running takes over the routine, can increase the risk of weight gain, and no one wants that, right?
Therefore, now there is a solution that, in addition to healthy, is very delicious and also very simple to be prepared, in addition to being able to be made in various ways, which is the “zoodles dough”.
And if you have never heard of zoodles, do not worry, in this article I will explain what this delicious, healthy dish is about and that it is an excellent option for people who want to have a more nutritious diet, and even lose weight.
In addition, zoodles are an excellent alternative to pasta. People who want to adhere to the low carb diet or need to eliminate a few pounds can opt for zoodles in virtually every meal without fear of getting fat!
What is zoodles?
Zoodles is the junction of zucchini with noodles and is the best option for people on a diet, especially those who follow the low carb diet but do not want to give up a good pasta dish, since it is a very healthy and gluten-free dish!
The zoodles is like a “dough” made of vegetables, the most common is to use zucchini. Still, it can also be made from carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, beets and pupunha, for example, but you can also make zoodles with a mix of all these vegetables.
And to cut into a noodle shape, use a specific cutter or make skinny strips with the knife. The cutters to prepare the zoodles are like graters. To get the shape of spaghetti, use a grater that cuts the vegetable into thin and spiral strips or thin and vertical strips, and if you want a greater thickness that mimics the noodles, use a thicker grater.
How to serve zoodles?
Another great advantage of using zoodles to prepare everyday meals is the versatility of preparation that this dish has since you can prepare it raw, cooked or just sautéed in olive oil.
Regardless of the vegetable you use, you can prepare the zoodles in the three ways above. Since the vegetables are cut very thin, even if you serve raw, the vegetable does not get complicated, but rather with a delicious crispness.
Below are some suggestions for how you can prepare and serve zoodles, as well as some side dishes for this innovative and delicious dish:
Raw Zoodles
To serve the raw zoodles, you can use any of the vegetables I mentioned above, only the pupunha that is not significantly indicated. It is a firmer vegetable and is better when served cooked.
But for the other vegetables, you can slice them very thinly and mix them with other ingredients such as tomatoes, chestnuts, fresh cheese, onions, olives, basil leaves or parsley, and season with the salad sauce your preference.
It can be with a mustard sauce, caesar salad sauce, or just with salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. In addition, serving zoodles prepared as a salad is a healthy and very refreshing option for the hottest seasons of the year.
Cooked Zoodles
If you want to serve the cooked zoodles, just cut the vegetable of your choice and put it in boiling water for about three minutes, in which case the cucumber does not work very well, but all other vegetables do.
The cool thing about serving cooked zoodles is that you can prepare it with several different sauces, just like you would prepare a typical pasta recipe, make the sauce separate and then attach it to the zoodles.
You can prepare a Bolognese sauce, mushroom sauce, bechamel sauce, four kinds of cheese sauce, seafood sauce, among many others, as they will all combine very well with the zoodles you prepare.
But if you prefer, you can serve without the addition of sauce too, just with salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and cubes of fresh cheese or grated Parmesan cheese on top, and you are free to add some fresh herbs.
Sautéed Zoodles in olive oil
An even more straightforward, easier and faster option to prepare zoodles is to make them sautéed in olive oil or butter with salt, pepper and garlic blades. This is the perfect option for those who have very little time and want a quick, healthy and tasty meal.
In this option, when sautéing the zoodles in olive oil, you must pay attention to time, since it must be very fast so that it does not give time for the vegetables to drop water, they must only adhere to the taste and remain crispy.
Side dishes for zoodles
Because it is a vegetable noodle, zoodles can be served with the meat of your choice, red meat, white meat, seafood or without any accompaniment.
Because zoodles already have the taste of vegetables and spices that you will put, so it is delicious in any way, in addition, if you are going to serve a zoodles with sauce, you need to pay attention to the type of meat or accompaniment that best suits the kind of sauce of your pasta.
Zoodles for children
A big plus of making a mix of vegetables to prepare zoodles is that children love colourful dishes. If you make a mix of zucchini, carrots and beets, for example, it will undoubtedly conquer the taste of a child with a good sauce.
Therefore, zoodles is as good a dish for adults as to make the little ones eat vegetables in a fun way.
You can also meet and enjoy these delicious varieties at American Pasta.
