Raw Zucchini Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce
You can tell a lot about what's going on in my life by what's on my library queue. I have this weird habit of getting fascinated by one particular subject and then reading everything I can about it until I get bored and find my next interest. This year alone I've been through a gardening phase, a running phase, a preserving food phase, a cycling phase, a twitter phase (yes, there are books on it!), a vegan nutrition phase, and a writing phase. My newest phase? Raw food.
With the weather warming up and longer days approaching, my body has been craving more cooling and fresh foods like salads, raw veggies, and raw soups. The only problem with a lot of raw food recipes that I've seen is that they tend to be a tad labor-intensive and nut-based. I really enjoy using nuts in recipes, but I wanted a recipe that was a bit on the lighter-side.
This week I set out to create an easy raw entree that is fresh, delicious, and can be prepared quickly. I ended up with a hearty zucchini pasta dish covered with a light, creamy tomato sauce. The best part? This meal can be prepared in under 5 minutes!
We'll start by spiralizing some zucchini to make our zucchini noodles. To do this, you will need a vegetable slicer that can cut food into spirals. (I use this one by World Cuisine.) If you don't have a vegetable slicer then you can use a food processor to cut your zucchini into matchsticks for a "penne" pasta.
Then we blend our sauce. Throw your tomatoes, tahini sauce, garlic, herbs, and salt into a blender. In under 30 seconds your creamy, flavorful sauce is ready!
I love topping this pasta with fresh cherry tomatoes and extra fresh pepper. This recipe serves 1, but it can easily be doubled or tripled as needed to serve more. This pasta is perfect for lunch, a light dinner, or any time that you crave a fresh, delicious meal without having to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.
Raw Zucchini Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce
Serves 1
2 medium zucchini
2 medium roma tomatoes
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon tahini
1.5 teaspoon dried basil
.5 teaspoon oregano
Freshly ground sea salt and pepper to taste
Process zucchini into spirals or matchsticks. Set aside.
Add tomatoes, garlic, tahini, basil, oregano, and salt to blender. Blend until smooth.
Top zucchini with sauce and serve.
Labels: dinner, gluten-free, lunch, quick meal, raw, soy-free, tomato, zucchini
19 Comments:
Love it! I will have to try your tahini-based tomato sauce, for sure. I find raw recipes come in 2 flavours: quick-and-easy and easy-but-lengthy. I like #1 for day-to-day stuff and #2 for special occasions. I am planning to post at least 1 raw recipe every week this summer since it is definitely the season for raw. :)
Gorgeous photos as always and such a simple, yet wonderful recipe. I have been on a raw food-info gathering kick lately, too. I just read The Idiot's Guide to Raw Food (or something like that) and it was pretty interesting. I got it from the library so I didn't feel bad when I just thumbed through it and then sent it back. I liked the part about cleanses, though.
This is such a cute and delicious idea! I love it
Interesting! I'll have to check that out! Thank you!
I would definitely agree with you there! I'm excited to see what recipes you come up with. It is definitely the season for raw food! :)
lovely!
:D
I was directed to this recipe from food gawker, tried it and loved it, also read some of your other blog posts, keep up the good work! My fiance and I have been trying to transition to more of a raw food diet and it's great to have blogs like yours out there.
Thank you!
wow - this was SO good! I borrowed a friend's Spirooli to see how I would like it, and I loved it. And the sauce is delicious. I used fresh basil and loads of it. Yummmm.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I'm actually having it again for dinner tonight! :)
I'm very excited to make this recipe with all the wonderful produce from the farmer's market today! I have been cooking a plant based diet (with a lot of raw meals) for a coworker of mine to help her transition in to a healthier lifestyle. I am wondering how well this will keep? I would prepare it for her the night before. We have been eating your kale caesar constantly (it is so delicious)! I love your site :)
I am so glad you love the salad! This recipe will definitely keep overnight or for a couple of days. The zucchini does get a little softer as it sits in the sauce, but it's still delicious. I actually make a big batch of this for myself on Sundays so I have lunches for the next few days. Let me know how it goes!
Made this last night [with a regular slicer]. It was really good and had the honor of being the first thing I've eaten in 45 days following my juice fast! Kudos.
looks delicious;) I think it takes more than 5 min to prepare but still very tempted to try. I've just started with raw food and will definitely visit this blog for new inspirations.
a 45 day juice fast? god people eat some food that cannot be good for you. i'm eating this now and it's good but let's call a spade a spade this is a kind-of-italian flavored salad
I just started a raw food detox program to cleans and loose weight. The part that Im not liking is that the food has no appeal or taste to me. Can you suggest some seasonings that wouldn't interfere with it.
Thanks Vikki
Hi Vikki,
That's a hard question to answer since I don't know what recipes you are working with. I am sure any general herbs or spices would help. :)
How fresh should the zucchini should be to get this consistency? Like right out of my garden? I guess the tomato sauce you can change it a bit with some fresh basil. Great recipe for vegans as me.
The fresher the zucchini, the better. Squash tends to lose moisture as it sits so an older zucchini will be dryer and less flavorful. Fresh basil would work great in this recipe!
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