2. With a Julienne Peeler
The great thing about a julienne peeler is that you likely already have one in your kitchen. Win! A julienne peeler frequently does double duty with a vegetable peeler. One side juliennes, the other side slices. And that’s perfect for when you want thick, flat slices of zucchini pasta. The single biggest benefit of a julienne peeler is that it’s small. It takes up virtually no space in your kitchen and will most likely reside in your utensil drawer.
Regarding the zucchini noodles themselves, the thinnest, most delicate noodles are sliced using a julienne peeler. Then, you simply pull the strands apart with your fingers. The reason this tool makes #2 on my list is that it takes longer to slice (you rotate the zucchini, creating a rectangular shape), it leaves the largest core and the potential of nicking a finger is high (yep, I’m clumsy).
PROS: cheap and easy to store.
CONS: leaves a fairly large core and requires more time to slice.
How to Cook Zucchini Noodles
Congratulations! Now that you’ve made zucchini noodles, the important question is probably what to do with them. You might be wondering how to cook them, but really, what you should be asking is how to reheat them, as cooking zucchini noodles isn’t really what you want to do. At least not too much.
Zucchini are comprised of 95 percent water (yes, 95%). Therefore, if you cook them for even one minute longer than necessary, you risk having a soggy, mushy mess of watery noodles. The exact opposite of al dente. Therefore, keep in mind that the purpose of cooking zoodles is only to warm them up, not to actually “cook” them. ” I failed miserably at this in the beginning.
These days, my noodles are consistently perfectly crisp and al dente. Here’s how….
While spiralized zucchini noodles are readily available at stores these days, freshly cut zucchini is always preferable. Curly
I’ve worked with two types of spiralizers – countertop spiralizers and the KitchenAid Spiralizer Attachment. Of the countertop spiralizers I’ve owned, the Inspiralizer (pictured above) has been my favorite. It clamps to the counter, so it doesn’t move around while you work. It’s also easy to clean and relatively small, so it’s easy to store.
After preparing the zoodles, you will probably have some leftover scraps. Extra zucchini scraps can be blended into hummus, smoothies, creamy zucchini soup, or the “ricotta” filling for lasagna. Don’t throw them away! Chop it up and add it to a frittata or try making zucchini pesto (The Love ; page 275).
I use them in salads and soups. Although making them at home can seem daunting, it’s actually quite simple if you have the right equipment (spoiler alert: a spiralizer isn’t always required!). In addition, creating your own zucchini noodles is less expensive than purchasing them from the store, and it’s enjoyable to shape a vegetable into the pasta shapes of your choice. So grab a bunch of zucchini, and let’s get started!.
I always keep a mandoline handy for slicing veggies like radishes, cucumbers, and cabbage into paper-thin slices, but it’s also great for making zucchini noodles! Use the mandoline to slice thin zucchini planks, then cut those planks into strips the thickness of fettuccine with a sharp knife. If you go this route, please, please, please be careful. It’s easy to cut yourself on a mandoline. Because the Benriner Mandoline is compact and convenient to store, I like it.
