“Spaghetti” of Squash

“Spaghetti” of Squash

This is a colorful dish that is best done with a mandolin. With a mandolin, this dish is super fast, and as the squash is very much like a pasta here, many sauces work well. This is the basic recipe for just the “noodles”, but it is so easy to vary this. Half an onion sautéed while blanching the carrot, a few basil leaves thinly sliced and you have a quick, light, and elegant dish. Have some leftover tomato sauce? Heat it up and pour it on. A dash of white wine, lemon and garlic works. Another reason I always liked this dish was my kids ate it up, and any way to extra vegetables into children is welcome.

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium green zucchini

2 medium yellow zucchini

1 large carrot, peeled

½ brown onion, peeled

Boiling water for blanching

Salt and pepper to taste

Extra Virgin olive oil as needed

Herbs of your choice-just a pinch

METHOD:

Using a mandolin, with the medium comb in place (the one where the teeth are about as wide as spaghetti), slice long strips from the vegetables. Keep the carrot separate from the squash.

Slice the carrot very thinly lengthwise. Make sure you cut away the end where the root was.

Blanch the carrot until almost done and then rinse in cold water. The blanching should take only a few seconds. If your carrot is tender enough, you may not need to blanch it. Take a bite and see-will it cook up soft and tender in the sauté pan? If so, skip the blanching.

Get a pan hot over a medium high flame. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan, and when it is hot, add the onions. Cook until soft and translucent.

Add the carrot and squash and toss to mix with the onions. Cook, tossing frequently, until squash and carrots are tender.

Drizzle with a little more oil, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with herbs.

Serve.

Chef’s Tips and Notes:

This dish is very versatile. You can break pasta to the same length and cook it separately, and then add it in towards the end if you want a more substantial dish. You can sauce it with just about anything. Tomato sauce, cream sauce, lemon juice with garlic and white wine and shrimp. A little dollop of pesto is nice, too.  Go with an oriental flavor instead-a little sesame oil or Hoisin works with ginger and garlic. This dish also works well if you are doing a big party and want to do individual plates. Cook the vegetables so they are just done, and then dump them into a big bowl. Using a kitchen fork (one of those two tined jobs), plunge the tines into the “noodles” and turn the fork to gather a ball of vegetables around 2½-3 inches in diameter. Pick up the ball, and keeping it on the fork, put it in the palm or your hand and twirl it to shape it with your palm. Transfer it to an oiled sheet pan. Repeat until you have enough piles plus a couple extra “in case”. Drizzle with a little oil and set aside until service. When you need them, put into a hot oven for a few minutes to heat through and the use an offset spatula to transfer them to plates. I like to use these as pedestals for the entrée. You can skip the carrot, or use all one color pasta. I have used this as a cold salad with a sesame oil dressing and also with a peanut sauce.

Serves: 4

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen