Princesses Eat-Zoodles

Allo Everyone!

About a year ago, I toyed with the idea of following a strict Paleo diet.  There were things I liked and things I didn’t and now I find that I follow a Paleo light style diet.  As in, when I’m really craving peanut butter and toast, I will have some, but I don’t eat it every day.

Picture courtesy of www.theclothesmakethegirl.com

But I digress–this isn’t a post about how I eat–this is a post about something delicious that came out of my paleo experiment.  A delicious recipe for what I call Zoodles–essentially Zuchinni Noodles from a blog by Melissa Joulwan called The Clothes Make the Girl.  Actually, I found the blog, perused the recipes and bought the cookbook, Well Fed on spec…and I’m so glad I did because it brought me to my new favourite side dish–something I like to call Zoodles. (she has a far fancier sounding name in her cookbook).

Zoodles!

Ingredients:

• 2 small zucchini, julienned (about 2 cups) [Julienne peeler is essential and be sure to stop when you get to the seeded parts or your noodles will fall apart]

• generous 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon almond flour or almond meal

• 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 clove garlic, crushed

• 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

• salt & pepper, to taste

Place the julienned zucchini in a colander or wire strainer and toss with the salt until coated. Allow to sit for 20-30 minutes to drain excess water (even give them a few squeezes to get out even more water), then rinse and pat dry with paper towels. NOTE: You may be tempted to skip this step; I strongly advise against it. This step insures tender, rather than watery, noodles.

While the zucchini is sweating in the colander, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Mix the almond flour with the coconut oil, sprinkle it with a smidgen of salt, then sauté in the pan, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until it’s toasty brown, about 1 minute. Remove from pan and save for later.

Return the pan to the heat and add the zucchini noodles. Sauté until just tender, about 1-2 minutes. Push the noodles to the side of the pan, and reduce heat to medium-low. Wait a minute; add the olive oil and garlic. When the garlic is fragrant, about 20 seconds. Mix the zucchini noodles into the garlic and add the almond flour mixture and chili flakes. Stir gently, taste, then add salt and pepper to your liking.

If you don’t find these to be addictive, I will be shocked.  Melissa’s blog and cookbook offer some ways to change up the noodles with different spices and ingredients, but this is the base recipe and so delicious that I am hesitant to change it up at all.

Happy Munching!

~Princess Lisa