Can you freeze zoodles?
I mean, you can. But they won’t be as good. There’s no avoiding it—recall all the water talk up there? Zoodles frozen in the freezer will cook up a little sad and mushy when reheated. However, if you’d like, spiralize your zucchini and store it in ziplock bags for later. When you are ready to make it, do not thaw. Place the frozen bag directly into a skillet over medium heat, cover, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Alternately, throw it into a pot of boiling salted water and blanch it for two to five minutes, or until it’s al denté.
Zoodles CAN be chilled ahead of time, and I highly suggest doing so. I prefer to spiralize my zoodles in advance and keep them raw in the refrigerator, layered between paper towels to absorb any liquid released, since freshly sauteed zoodles are the best. Cook as normal when ready to eat.
How to make Zoodles with a mandolin
The mandoline (using the julienne blade) is my favorite tool for making zoodles. I don’t own a spiralizer, and if I did I’m sure that would be my favorite tool, but I don’t have anywhere to store one more kitchen gadget.
But the mandoline is pretty great. I adore that you can change the setting to make your zoodles as thick as you like. The other non-spiralizer options I’ve included here all result in fairly thin zoodles.
The best zoodles are thick ones because they retain their shape when cooked and don’t turn to a soggy mess. When the noodles are thick, it is very simple to get them al dente. I prefer them to be roughly the same thickness as a chopstick, or slightly thinner.
There are two methods for preparing zoodles with your mandoline’s julienne blade. Long, straight zucchini strips can be obtained by pushing the zucchini lengthwise down the julienne blade.
However, my preferred method involves twisting the zucchini around the julienne blade, much like how you would twist a pencil in a sharpener. This produces long, perfectly curly noodles that are zoodle heaven. It’s fast and easy. Just make sure you don’t slice your fingers off. Mandolines are ruthless. It’s pretty nice that the one I linked to up there includes a metal glove to protect your hands.
Turn it over so that the thickest grater side is facing up, and use it exactly like a mandoline (without the hurt and anxiety!). Move the zucchini along it in long strokes to make the ribbons.
First of all, you have to use them extremely carefully. Secondly, I don’t want to add to the pressure of knowing that my hand is about to meet its demise when I’m rushing around a kitchen or my hands are shaking from hunger. Should I happen to “ooops” and slip for an instant, I might end up severing flesh. My flesh. No me gusta. (do not tell me about spiralizers. Yes, they’re fantastic and do protect your hands, but I don’t have the room or money for such a fancy device.
Pretending that this is all new information and that I’ve found the lazy way to prepare spaghetti with zucchini, I e. without a mandoline or peeler or spiralizer.
Since the weather isn’t cooperating with my belief that it is summer yet, I decided to go with a very green theme using peas and pesto. Additionally, I added some crème fraîche and topped it with spinach, Parmesan shavings, and lemon zest (believe me, the lemon zest really does make all the difference). I can only picture how delicious this would be if there were some croutons added. But don’t even get me started on that.
To make those gorgeous, delectable strands, we’re going to use a simple box grater.
