Zucchini spaghetti with sun-dried tomato sauce and kalamata olives

Zucchini noodles are a nice, light alternative to grain-based pasta.

This recipe requires a spiral slicer, a mandoline, or some very careful and precise knife work. Add a little spiral cut carrot, daikon, or beet for some additional texture and flavour.

Ingredients

3 small zucchini (about 2 cups sliced)
1/4t coarse sea salt
2-3T sun-dried tomatoes (the dehydrated kind, not jarred)
2T olive oil
1/2T fresh garlic, minced
1T fresh basil, minced
1 scallion, minced (2″ reserved for garnish)
1T kalamata olive, finely chopped
Coarse sea salt to taste

Optional: 1-2T nutritional yeast

Directions

Put the tomatoes in the bottom of a wie, shallow bowl. Trim the ends of the zucchini and spriral cut on a small, thin setting or appropriate blades (think spaghetti) and sprinkle with salt. Add the zucchini to a colander over the bowl to drain for 30 minutes and rehydrate the sun-dried tomato.

At the 30 minute market, puree the sun-dried tomatoes, the resulting zucchini water and the garlic until smooth. Add the olive oil slowly, continuing to puree in order to emulsify. Add the scallion, basil and nutritional yeast (if using) to the sauce, and stir to combine. If the sauce is too thin, add an additional tablespoon of sun-dried tomatoes. If it’s too thick, add cool water 1 teaspoon at a time. Let stand 10 minutes.

Remove the zucchini from the colander and pat dry, using a clean tea towel. Let the zucchini air dry while the sauce stands. Add the zucchini to a bowl. Toss the sauce with the zucchini until well coated. Plate, sprinkle with the chopped kalamata olives, garnish with scallions sliced on a diagonal, and serve