zucchini Archives * My Hot Southern Mess

One of the best part of having a vegetable garden is all the wonderful homegrown produce that is right in your back yard. One part of growing a garden that people seem to forget to mention is that sometimes (Ok, well maybe more like often) you have an over abundance of veggies. Right now that is going on in my garden. I have so much yellow crookneck squash.

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Seriously, I love squash but i’m at a point of what the heck do I do with all of this squash? I’ve roasted it and sautéed it, I have even frozen some of it, i’ve spammed my Facebook friends for recipe ideas too. Looking at the squash I wasn’t sure what to do with it anymore then I remembered something I first made a couple years ago, zucchini cakes. Zucchini cakes are basically a vegetarian crab cake and delicious! I figure why not try it with the yellow crook neck squash, I had nothing to lose. I have definitely earned back my dollar and change I invested when I bought the seeds back in the spring.

I threw some gluten free bread in the oven to toast up and dry out to make some fresh breadcrumbs and went to work on shredding my squash, making sure to remove the seedy portions. The seeds just don’t shred that well. After draining the squash I put together the faux cakes and started frying and let me tell you the squash cakes were delicious and were a hit with my family! They were the perfect way to use up some of my excess squash. I know I will be making them again real soon!

Do you have squash (yellow or zucchini) growing like crazy in your garden? Try this recipe and discover a new delicious way to eat squash!

Squash Cakes

Author:

Country Girl Gourmet

Ingredients

3 cups coarsely shredded zucchini or yellow squash
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (gluten free work well)
1 large egg
2 green onions, thinly sliced
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
2-4 garlic cloves, minced (to taste)
1½ teaspoons seafood seasoning or season all (seasoned salt) or Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Place grated zucchini in a colander; sprinkle with salt and let stand 30 minutes. Press with paper towels to remove as much liquid as possible; zucchini should be fairly dry and reduced to about 2 cups.
Mix zucchini, bread crumbs, green onions, bell pepper,garlic, seafood seasoning, mustard, mayonnaise, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Form into patties (large or small)
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry patties until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Using veggies to replace pasta is nothing new for me. I have been roasting spaghetti squash for years to use in place of spaghetti and I often sub eggplant for lasagna noodles. Noodles made with zucchini, often called Zoodles though have been on my to try list for years. Then all of the sudden in the last year or so they were everywhere and I was left pondering, How to make Zoodles?

There are different ways to make Zoodles. The one I have heard about the most is to use a Paderno Spiralizer but really didn’t want to spend $40 for another kitchen gadget that I had no clue where i would keep. A cheaper option was the As Seen on TV, Veggetti. I know several people who have bought it and loved it but it still left me with a new kitchen gadget that I would have to find a home for in my overflowing cupboards. Seriously, my husbands questions why I have so much stuff and from time to time he asks why do you even have this? So I was thinking maybe something smaller like a Julienne Peeler. They are small, cheap and would definitely do the trick. Then I remembered that I already had something that might work, my mandoline! I didn’t need to buy anything at all just experiment and figure out what worked best to figure out, How to make Zoodles!

First, I gathered my supplies. 3 small-medium zucchinis, knife, cutting board and colander. To make zoodles it is up to you if you want to peel your zucchini or not. I chose to keep my peel on. I rarely peel zucchini.

I tested out my large grater blade first but I felt my zoodles were too thin.

So I went to the Julienne Blade

and it seemed to do the trick.

The thing to remember is you want to make one smooth swipe the length of the full zucchini down the mandoline. If you are using a larger zucchini rotate your zucchini to the next side to avoid seeds. You do not want the seeds… the seedy parts of zucchini do not like becoming noodles.

Once you have turned your zucchini into noodles place your zoodles into a colander and lightly salt your zoodles. I used about a teaspoon for my 3 zucchinis.

You want to draw out as much moisture as you can before cooking. I found it was best to let the zoodles sit for 30 minutes or longer.

After your zoodles have sweated place on a paper towel and pat as much moisture out as you can.

Then all there is left to do is cook your noodles, if desired. The zoodles can be eaten raw or cooked. They can even be cooked a couple different ways. You can add to boiling salted water like traditional pasta and cook for 2-15 minutes depending on your zoodles or you can do like I did and sauté them for a couple minutes.

To saute depending on the amount of zoodles you are making you add 1-2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil, Butter/Ghee or even Bacon Fat to a sauté pan and heat on Medium-High heat. Once your oil is hot add your zoodles and sauté for 5-6 minutes string often to prevent sticking. Then serve in your favorite way to enjoy pasta.

I like to keep it simple and while sautéing I added some garlic and when they were finished I added some red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese making a zoodled version of Spaghetti with Garlic, Red Pepper and Olive Oil.

And that is, How to make Zoodles with a mandoline.

Quick , easy and delicious! What do you think? Are you ready to try Zoodles?

5.0 from 2 reviews

How to Make Zoodles!

Author:

Adapted from Allrecipes.com Low Carb Zucchini Pasta

Recipe type: gluten free

An easy to make and versatile substitute for your favorite pasta. Perfect for those that are gluten free and/or on a paleo diet.

Ingredients

2-3 small to medium zucchinis
1 TB olive oil
1 tsp salt

Instructions

Cut lengthwise slices from zucchini using a Mandoline stopping when the seeds are reached. Turn zucchini over and continue slicing until all the zucchini is in long strips; discard seeds.
Place zoodles in a colander and lightly salt to sweat zoodles. Allow zoodles to sweat 30 minutes or longer. Blot dry with a paper towel before cooking.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir zucchini in the hot oil 5 to 7 minutes. Season and serve in your favorite ways to serve pasta. .

**recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com Low Carb Zucchini Pasta**