Zucchini season has arrived! Zucchini is a wonderfully healthful vegetable that is a member of the squash family. The zucchini plants growing in my garden are still small, but I picked up some beautiful zucchinis at the farmers' market last weekend.
One of my favorite ways to use zucchini is to make it into noodles for spaghetti. My husband and I actually prefer the flavor of these zucchini noodles over the bland flavor of pasta. Both of our kids love them too!
This simple recipe doesn't require a spiralizer or any other fancy equipment, just a vegetable peeler.
Zucchini Noodles
1&1/2 to 2 medium zucchinis per person
Butter or combination of olive oil and butter
Vegetable peeler (I love my Rada vegetable peeler for this recipe!)
Using a vegetable peeler, make long noodles from the zucchinis. Rotate the zucchini as you go to make the most of each one. When you have only a small piece left, use a knife to make a few more very thin slices. The noodles don't have to be perfect, so don't stress if some are short and some are long. When you're done, you'll have a small mountain of noodles.
Melt some butter (or butter and olive oil) in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the noodles, season with salt, and occasionally use some tongs or a big spoon to turn them and move them around in the pan. The zucchini will release some water and will shrink down a lot while cooking. You may need to reduce the heat to medium after a few minutes if your skillet starts to get too hot.
Saute the noodles for about 7 minutes if you like your noodles to be al dente, or for up to 12 minutes if you like your noodles soft.
Top the noodles with your favorite marinara sauce and cheese!