One of my personal favorite vegetables and something I always keep well stocked in my refrigerator is zucchini. This lovely green squash has so much potential in the raw food world, finding its way into cheesecakes, savory cream sauces, dips and many more unsuspecting recipes. I’m also excited to finally be growing my own zucchini this year!

Today we’re starting with the basics, and focusing on a tasty alternative to a well-known favorite. Zucchini pasta is gaining popularity, and  not just in the raw food world as a super low-carb version of its cooked-food counterpart. Without a doubt, this veggie is one of the most important staples for a tasty raw food meal, and you won’t believe how convincing it is as pasta! That’s right, you can enjoy raw zucchini pasta that actually tastes more like pasta – the trick is all in a simple technique. Before you know it, you’ll be enjoying a big warm bowl of comfort food for dinner tonight.

Another great thing about making this specific pasta is that you don’t need one of those fancy spiral slicers. A good quality vegetable peeler and either a spice grinder or mortar and pestle will do the trick.

Zucchini Ribbon Pasta

Recipe yields roughly 2 servings

Important Recipe Tips

Buying Zucchini: When purchasing your zucchini, try to pick out the ones that have the least amount of curve. This will help in making your pasta ribbons a much easier process.

Seasoning and Salt: Do NOT add the dry pasta seasoning or any kind of salt to your zucchini until you are ready to warm and eat it. Any time you add salt or acid to zucchini, it begins to sweat and seep its natural water content, thus changing the texture. In this specific pasta recipe, you want to avoid this occurrence.  Keep your pasta ribbons and dry pasta seasoning in separate containers in your fridge.

Step 1.

Making Zucchini Ribbon Pasta

1.5 lbs Zucchini = 4 cups pasta

1.     Peel the green skin off of your Zucchini, leaving the top ends still intact.

2.     Stick a skewer (like the kind you would use for making kebabs) in the stem of your Zucchini. This is going to be your handle, making it easier for you to ribbon/peel your pasta. This is also to ensure that your fingers won’t get in the way.

3.     Rotate/turn your Zucchini as you peel your ribbons.

4.     Once you’ve ribbon/peeled as much of your zucchini as you can, you may end up with some left-overs you were unable to peel — set these aside for a salad, or munch on them as you continue on with the recipe.

5.     Place your zucchini pasta in a bowl and move on to the next step.

Step 2.

Dry Pasta Seasoning

This is what will set your pasta apart from every other zucchini pasta

In your Spice Grinder or Mortar, combine the following:

• 3 Tbsp Pumpkin Seed
• 1 tsp dried Dillweed
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/4 tsp Salt

With your spice grinder or mortar* and pestle, proceed to grind all of the above ingredients into a meal.

*If you do this with a mortar and pestle, you may want to divide the dry ingredients in half to ensure even grinding.

Step 4: Drying your Pasta in the Dehydrator or Oven

1.     Spread your pasta out evenly onto a dehydrator sheet OR a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

2.     If you’re using an oven, set it at its lowest heat and be sure to leave the oven door cracked open while you dry your pasta.

3.     Let your pasta dry for roughly 30 minutes, until it’s warmed through and slightly wilted.

For a simple tasty bowl of pasta:

• 1/4  c minced Sundried Tomatoes
• 1/3 c sliced Sundried Olives
• 1/2 c sliced Red Pepper
• Coarsely chopped fresh Cilantro or Parsley
• Chopped Almonds

Toss all of the above into your pasta with a drizzle of your favorite cold pressed oil and a squeeze of lemon. Enjoy!