This is a great, light, summertime dinner when you want to eat a lot, but go low in calories. It uses zucchini or yellow squash as noodles (or "zoodles") instead of pasta to keep it light and nutritious. You can use any kind of roasted veggies you want--whatever looks good from the local produce section or your garden! My garden has an overabundance of basil, which is why I have been putting pesto on every single dish (and LOVING it).
Serves two as a main dish or four as a side dish. (Unless you eat like me, then it is one serving!)
Ingredients
1 cup of cherry tomatoes sliced in half
1/2 large red onion cut in chunks
1 bundle of asparagus, bottoms trimmed (about 1-2 inches)
1-2 cups of sliced mushrooms (any kind)
2-3 cups of baby spinach
2-3 spiralized zucchinis and/or yellow squash (the photo shows yellow squash because I was out of zucchini)--the spiralizer I use is pictured below and can be found on Amazon
Salt and pepper to taste
Spray bottle with olive oil-see photo below (or about 1-2 Tbsp. of olive oil)
2-4 heaping tablespoons of pesto (I've linked here to my recipe, but you can use storebought if you prefer)
Optional: "rawmesan"
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees (I use convection roast).
Roast your veggies: Put the halved cherry tomatoes, onion, and asparagus on a roasting pan (with parchment paper) and spritz with olive oil (5-10 spritzes depending on how much oil you prefer). Sprinkle all with salt and fresh ground pepper.
Roast until lightly browned (about 15-20 minutes).
Meanwhile, spiralize your zucchini and/or squash. Set aside.
Saute your sliced mushrooms in a non-stick skillet. Sprinkle with salt and garlic powder to taste. Set aside. (You could roast your mushrooms with the veggies if you are feeling lazy.)
When roasted veggies are finished chop your asparagus into halves or thirds, according to your preference.
Spritz a large non stick skillet or wok with olive oil and heat on medium high. When it is hot, add the spiraled zoodles and quickly stir fry for about 3- 5 minutes. You do not want to overcook your zoodles.
Add baby spinach a minute or two before the zoodles are finished so they can wilt.
Add the roasted veggies, mushrooms, and 2-4 tbsp. of pesto to the zoodles and gently toss. If you like a touch of spice, add some red pepper flakes.
After plating zoodles, you may want to add another small dollop of pesto!
Optional: Sprinkle "Rawmesan" on top.
Note: This is a VERY flexible dish. You can basically use any vegetables you like (bell peppers, broccoli, artichokes, olives, etc.) or you can omit any vegetable from this dish that you do not like. You could also add roasted chickpeas or sautéed white beans. The possibilities are endless. I have another zoodle dish on the web site that uses marinara sauce with lentils so you should check it out too. And I have even made zoodles with a creamy fettuccini sauce. Have fun creating your own seasonal zoodle dishes!
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