Living in Chennai, I know the struggles of not finding ingredients that a lot of food bloggers use for their recipes. Since the conception of this blog, I have always wanted to post recipes using items that are easy to find where we live. With this in mind, I know that many of you may not have spiralizers at home. So it was with a lot of apprehension that I posted this recipe. But you know what? A spiralizer is an amazing investment in your kitchen because it opens your world to a whole new way of living.
Vegetable noodles are an amazing way to get more veggies into your diet without even realising! Spiralized vegetables have a very similar texture and consistency to actual pasta. So your taste buds trick you into thinking that you are eating a big bowl of paste but your waistline knows that you are actually eating healthy. Spiralized vegetable noodles are naturally gluten free so its a great option for anyone who is gluten intolerant.
There are a couple of pressure points with zoodles but don't worry if you follow my instructions then you won't have to worry about a thing!
- Make sure that you lightly salt your zoodles, let them rest for 10 minutes and squeeze the water out gently with a muslin cloth or between some kitchen tissue papers.
- While spiralizing, each zoodle might be a bit too long so just chop it in half with some kitchen shears.
- I prefer to eat them raw tossed in sauce most of the time but when you do cook them, make sure that they are al-dente and not overcooked. Mushy zoodles are terrible to eat.
- I would not suggest reheating them or making them earlier on and consuming later. You need to toss it in the sauce just before tucking in. If you don't then it leaches out a bit of water and that just doesn't look or taste pretty.
Zoodles or zucchini noodles tossed with a delicious basil pesto and topped with spicy prawns.
Calories - 318 per serving
Chop the ends off the zucchini and attach it to the spiralizer. Make sure that one end is pressed onto the blade. Slowly start spinning and in a matter of seconds, you will have your entire batch of zucchini noodles ready.
Now comes a really important step. Sprinkle the zoodles with a bit of salt and place between any cloth or kitchen tissue paper. Leave it for 10 min so that it releases some water.
While your zoodles are resting, marinate the prawns. Combine all the spices, rub into the prawns and set them aside.
Now it is time to make the pesto! Place the basil, spinach, pine nuts, garlic and parmesan into the food processor. Process till it is a chunky paste.
Slowly drizzle the olive oil into the pesto while the motor is running so that the oil gets emulsified well into the sauce. Your pesto is now ready!
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Once your pan is hot then add the prawns into the frying pan. It should be so hot that the prawns start to sizzle. After two minutes, turn them onto the other side and let them cook for an additional minute and a half. Remove the prawns from the pan.
Put the pan back on to the heat and toss in your zoodles. Sauté them for 1-2 minutes but make sure that they are still al dente. You do not want them turning into mush. Toss the cooked zoodles in a bowl with 2 teaspoons of the pesto. Then place the spicy prawns on top and serve!
Ingredients
Directions
Chop the ends off the zucchini and attach it to the spiralizer. Make sure that one end is pressed onto the blade. Slowly start spinning and in a matter of seconds, you will have your entire batch of zucchini noodles ready.
Now comes a really important step. Sprinkle the zoodles with a bit of salt and place between any cloth or kitchen tissue paper. Leave it for 10 min so that it releases some water.
While your zoodles are resting, marinate the prawns. Combine all the spices, rub into the prawns and set them aside.
Now it is time to make the pesto! Place the basil, spinach, pine nuts, garlic and parmesan into the food processor. Process till it is a chunky paste.
Slowly drizzle the olive oil into the pesto while the motor is running so that the oil gets emulsified well into the sauce. Your pesto is now ready!
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Once your pan is hot then add the prawns into the frying pan. It should be so hot that the prawns start to sizzle. After two minutes, turn them onto the other side and let them cook for an additional minute and a half. Remove the prawns from the pan.
Put the pan back on to the heat and toss in your zoodles. Sauté them for 1-2 minutes but make sure that they are still al dente. You do not want them turning into mush. Toss the cooked zoodles in a bowl with 2 teaspoons of the pesto. Then place the spicy prawns on top and serve!
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