I picked the first zucchini (and a few cherry tomatoes) from our garden the other day. And the next day the attachment for my KitchenAid mixer arrived from Amazon: a Bestand mixer attachment / spiralizer plus with peel, core and slice blades. Time for a quick zoodle and shrimp stir-fry!
Saving the tomatoes for snacking, I cut the ends off of the zucchini then cut in half shortways, in about 4" lengths. Since the attachment has a spoked blade piece to hold the veggies in place while it slices/spirals (it's at the end by the mixer), it's best to have a rather firm vegetable. This zucchini was a bit soft in the thickest part so it didn't work as well on that piece. (Note to self: pick zucchini before it gets too big!) But I was able to spiralize about two-thirds of it, slicing the rest for dipping into hummus as a snack.
Using my new All Clad saucepan (which I LOVE!!), I whipped up this tasty dinner using these zoodles and shrimp. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 small zucchini, spiralized as shown
1/2 lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons capers
Approximately 2 cups of fresh brussels sprouts, cut in half
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons minced garlic
Seasonings: salt, pepper, Sonoma Seasonings and/or cayenne pepper - all to taste
Directions:
In a small bowl, toss the shrimp with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and your preferred seasonings. Set aside. Sauté the onions, pepper, and sprouts in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in medium-high heat, just to soften. I usually put the lid on for a few minutes to soften up the sprouts using the steam from the veggies. Add a little bit of water if the veggies dry out. You don't want the sprouts hard. With the pan uncovered, add in the shrimp and the rest of the ingredients. Stir on medium-high heat until the shrimp turn pink and the zoodles are cooked, which doesn't take but a few minutes. If you want to cover with a lid with the burner turned off and let the zoodles cook just a bit more if they're still pretty firm, that's fine. Just don't let them get mushy.
NOTES
Zoodles are a healthy and tasty substitute for pasta.
This list of ingredients is totally flexible. You can omit the pepper if you like. I just like the little "pop" of spice it creates. You could replace what I used here with a host of other ingredients: snap peas, broccoli, white onion, spinach…the sky's the limit.
