‘Tis the season for an abundance of yellow squash and zucchini! Mine are growing like weeds in the backyard. This is our first garden and it’s been such fun. I love going outside every night after work to harvest dinner. And thanks to squash noodles, I know what to do with all my bounty.
My friend, Jill Mant, who posts at saucycooks.com, has told me for years about her vegan son’s fabulous raw zucchini pasta. She’s not vegan, but she’s an amazing cook and she raves about it. Recently, another friend posted her squash noodle dish on Facebook. Again, rave reviews. How could I resist? Why should I resist? Curiosity was building and I just had to try these wonder noodles!
First, investing in the right kitchen gadget is a must. My friend recommended her Joyce Chen. I hopped online to purchase one, and after a little research, I decided on the Benriner COOK HELP instead. I chose this model because it was small, lightweight, had interchangeable, replaceable blades and I could hold it over a plate or bowl and just spiral away to my heart’s content.
When my COOK HELP arrived, it was fairly easy to assemble. The instruction book made me giggle. “Helps your cooking fast, joyfully with wonderfully edged strings!” Um…I couldn’t agree more? If you can read Japanese, you should be good to go. If not, the pictures and broken English are good enough to help you figure it out.
I like to pick my zucchini and squash about 10″ or smaller. They are sweeter and firmer than the big seedy ones. The COOK HELP won’t work well if the veggie is even a little mushy.
Chop the squash into pieces just small enough to fit between the handle and the blade. Cut both ends as straight as possible to minimize waste. Place one end on the pin and bring down the handle. Spin clockwise. This unit will make long, long noodles which can be harder to eat. You can spin to the length you like and just pull them off from the bottom and start spinning again if you don’t want super long noodles.
Top your noodles with the sauce of your choice. Hubby prefers standard marinara from the jar (not raw). I’ve been having fun with mine and trying all sorts of raw experiments. The noodles below are topped with a raw sauce of blended tomatoes, avocado, fresh basil, oregano, sea salt, garlic, nutritional yeast and onion. I made one with a curry sauce the other night. And I posted a raw pesto Alfredo recipe a few days ago.
I highly recommend these noodles, not only because you’ll use up your squash, but also because they are healthy, low calorie and really fun to make and eat! Happy spiraling!
