In the premier issue, issue no. 1, of the sadly now defunct Everyday Food Magazine, from the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living, January 2003, there was a great recipe for 3 – Ingredient Fettuccini Alfredo. A recipe that I’ve made over and over again over the years. Today however I adapted it to make with fresh zoodles, you know, zucchini noodles instead of pasta. Although the outcome is not unctuous like the original pasta version, it’s really delicious!
My friend’s, Karon’s, garden is burgeoning in this heat and she’s giving away tomatoes, peppers, Armenian cucumbers and zonkers (my family’s name for oversized zucchinis) to her neighbors, co-workers and friends by the bushelful. I got some of all four recently and have been eating my way through the bounty.
Side note: I’ve entered a photo of a cute cherry tomato that she grew called “Cherry Tomato with Man-bun” into a tomato photo contest over on Instagram sponsored by something called World Tomato Society on Facebook and the zonker that I cooked with in today’s recipe photobombed the entry. Wish me luck in the contest!
The recipe:
– Zucchini noodles
– 1 stick Unsalted butter, divided
– Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, lots
– Olive oil, splash
– Pepper, to taste
– Salt, optional
1. Make a bunch of zucchini noodles called zoodles with a vegetable spiralizer tool. There are plenty of them available online and in stores, I bet you probably have one, but if you don’t have or want one then cut the noodles with a knife from a large zucchini. Remove the ends, slice the zucchini thinly longways then slice the slices into thin long “noodles”.
2. I sautéed the zoodles in a cast iron pan with a splash of olive oil and a little (2T.) unsalted butter until soft and soupy.
3. Then I tossed the hot noodles and all its juice in a bowl with 6 tablespoons unsalted butter that had been blended in a food processor with lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Season with lots of freshly grated black pepper. The Parmesan cheese is salty, so only use salt after tasting first.
(This qualifies as a 3-ingredient recipe because olive oil, salt and pepper are considered pantry ingredients and don’t count.)
Yum!