ZUCCHINI NOODLES AND SICILIAN CAPONATA
Growing up in an Italian-American household pizza, pasta and cheese naturally became some of my favorite foods. So you can imagine that when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in my adolescence these favorites suddenly had to be moved into a “special occasion” category. I realized that giving into cravings was not nearly as important as feeling good, so I simply adapted.It wasn’t an easy adjustment, but now as a healthy adult I embrace the challenge of finding ways to notfeel deprived and satisfy my pasta cravings. Having to limit my gluten and dairy intake has challenged me to make several amazing discoveries on my journey to health.
The following recipe is just one of countless others I am so excited to share with you all! Whether you have a gastrointestinal disorder ,want to mix up your cooking routine, or maybe you’re looking to incorporate more plant foods into your diet,this is a deliciously fresh and wholesome dish to add to your repertoire. I promise!
Zucchini noodles are currently a very trendy and healthy alternative to pasta, which I’ve actually been making for years! The greatest part about them is the ease of it all. From start to finish the process is much quicker than cooking actual pasta. And all you need is a vegetable spiralizer and a little bit of elbow grease. Zucchini noodles can be eaten raw or sautéed. My personal favorite is to lightly sauté them in extra virgin olive oil, with some fresh chopped garlic and herbs of choice. In the following recipe I sautéed the noodles with fresh ground black pepper, garlic and salt. I recommend lightly sautéing zucchini for only a few minutes because it will lose its structure and pasta-like consistency if overly sautéed.
Note-once you’ve spiralized about half a zucchini you have essentially created these whimsical Dr. Seuss-like conical zucchini trees that cannot be spiralized any further!! I marveled over these little wonders .Don’t toss these! Just place them in a tupperware to be chopped and sauteed with other veggies. Or you can use a vegetable peeler to manually create noodles from these little zucchini cones.
The makings of a delicious caponata! The best part: all whole, fresh foods and nothing processed! Please excuse my lack of action shots! I’m new to the blogosphere and keep it to the basics for now.
For those interested in using this recipe as a side dish I recommending pairing the noodles with my parmesan and Herbed Baked Chicken Thighs as seen above.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Sicilian Caponata
Serves 8
Ingredients:
2 large eggplant, 1/2 inch dice ( peel or leave skin on)
1 large red onion, 1/2 inch dice
3 ribs celery, 1/2 inch dice
1 bell pepper (red or yellow), 1/2 inch dice*
3 large tomatoes, peeled, chopped ( can buy canned tomatoes)
1/2-1 cup green olives packed in brine, pitted
1/4-1/2 cup capers
1 can tomato sauce , 15 ounces
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup golden raisins*
1/4-1/2 cup pine nuts*
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
fresh basil, chiffonade (can also use mint)
4-6 garlic cloves, minced
crushed red pepper flakes ( to taste)
olive oil
salt ( to taste)
pepper ( to taste)
Process:
1. Wash the eggplant and dice into cubes. Put pieces in a strainer and sprinkle them liberally with salt . Place a plate on top of the eggplant and let them sit for several hours to draw out the bitter juices. If short on time , don’t worry about salting the eggplant to drain juices, follow directions in step 4.
2. While eggplant sits, blanch, peel , seed and chop tomatoes. Time saver: Buy canned, peeled tomatoes.
3. Once the eggplant has sat, rinse away some of the salt and pat the pieces dry.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss the diced eggplant in olive oil and salt to taste. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast until the eggplant is soft, about 15-20 minutes. Put aside.
5.Heat olive oil in large pot and toss in the onion and crushed red pepper and salt, to taste. Cook over medium-high heat until onions are soft, about 5 minutes.
6. Add the celery and garlic; cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Stir in the bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes.
8. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and cook until all the veggies are soft and aromatic and starting to come together as a stew, about 5-6 minutes.
9. Toss in the eggplant, 1/2 cup of water and the tomato sauce.
10. Cook until most of the water has evaporated.
11. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a small bowl and add it to the mixture.
12. Stir in the raisins, capers, olives and pine nuts and cook for five more minutes.
13. Chop the basil and serve as a garnish or mix it into the caponata.
This dish is traditionally eaten cold, but tastes yummy as a hot dish too!
*You can omit the bell pepper, raisins and pine nuts , but all the other ingredients I would include.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Zucchini Noodles
4 Servings
Ingredients:
6, medium-sized Zucchini
1 Tbsp, Olive Oil
3-4 ,Garlic Cloves, Minced
Freshly Ground Black Pepper and Salt, to taste
Process:
1. Make the noodles using your spiralizer. There are usually two settings on the spiralizer for creating either thin or thick noodles. I prefer the thicker setting for making zucchini pasta dishes.
2. In a large skillet on low-medium heat add olive oil to the pan and sauté the minced garlic until fragrant. Add the zucchini, salt and pepper and gently sauté the noodles for a couple of minutes until they soften. Serve hot with the Sicilian Caponata.
No Comments