Asian Zucchini Pasta

This just might be my new favorite recipe. 

It's all about the sauce. 

Creamy, savory and a tad sweet, this is hands down a new staple dish in our household.

So let's begin this nutritiously dense, twenty minute journey (the time it takes to get this culinary delight in your mouth) to pasta nirvana. 

That didn't sound right. Or did it? 

Onward.

 First, if you don't have a spiralizer, not to worry! Just utilize your fruit/veggie peeler and make fetuccini ribbons like so (see below), working around the zucchini until you get to the seeded part.

But if you do have a spiralizer, I'm not gonna lie, it's sort of a show stopper. 

Wash and cut tips off both ends of zucchini, peel skin (if you like) and affix to spiralizer like so. 

Turn that crank until you come up with . . .

 

. . .THIS!

Curly, stringy spaghetti. 

How cool is that?

Set aside and assemble the sauce ingredients.

There are a couple of variations, so work with what you have!

Where there are options, I wrote in bold the ingredients I used. 

Asian Walnut Sauce

1 cup walnuts

1/3 cup water

2 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)

1 TBS peeled ginger root

2 TBS liquid aminos OR Nama Shoyu OR Tamari 

2 Medjool Dates AND/OR 1 TBS Agave Nectar or other preferred sweetener

1 TBS tamarind paste OR lemon juice OR lime juice (lime recommended) 

I doubled the recipe for 3 medium-large zucchinis. But this sauce actually goes a long way.

And yes, I put both dates and agave nectar in. It wasn't overbearingly sweet at all.

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth, to a sour cream consistency. It shouldn't be too thin.

Set aside or chill in fridge until ready to serve. 

(The soy, tamari or liquid aminos will pull the water out of the zucchini, which will naturally thin the sauce out a bit anyway, so it's best to wait until serving to mix the sauce with the pasta.)

Now, add a bunch of veggies and things to the pasta for the gourmet appeal!

What I incorporated to the 3 spiralized zucchinis:

1 sliced bell pepper*

5 sliced baby bella mushroom caps

3/4 cup shredded carrots*

1/2 cup almond slivers

1/2 cup cilantro*

Other things you could add:

Broccoli

Sunflower seeds

Cucumber*

Red Cabbage

Bean sprouts

Sesame Seeds*

Sliced Radish*

*= recommended from the recipe I found.

But, as you can see, I opted out of cucumber and other things and added a few innovations of my own.  

When you're ready to eat all this goodness, add the sauce to the pasta and turn over with tongs until well incorporated.

Plate and garnish with a little cilantro and then just marvel at this gourmet beauty.

But not for too long. You'll be dying to eat this pronto.

And the nutrition, you wonder? You're gonna love this!

Each serving (more than the amount you see above) is under 300 calories!

Fat? 19 grams . . .but only 1 gram is saturated. Hollah!

NO cholesterol.

24 grams of Carbs. And these are simple carbs, mind you. (Easy for the body to break down.)

And 8 grams of protein. 

Other nutrients include potassium, fiber, vitamins A, C & E, iron, folate, phosphorus, and magnesium.

I don't know about y'all, but this dish is really something to dish about.  

My little guy thought so!