One-Pot Zucchini Pasta

When I fall off the healthy eating wagon, I really fall off. And eat every single fried food on my way down. And then I hit rock bottom, which surfaces as a food hangover. You know that feeling when your face gets all puffy and your stomach screams at you to just stop? Yup, I’ve been there. Very recently. One weekend, I ate more junk food than I’d care to admit even to myself. I thought about listing it all out but then realized, no I’d just reset my diet. And when I say diet, I mean like what I eat on a regular basis, not a Atkins Diet or the South Beach Diet, etc.

But it’s hard to give up some awesome fried food and reintroduce veggies into your daily routine. You crave comfort and typically, comfort means pasta. Lots of it. Well, my one-pot zucchini pesto pasta gives the comfort + ease of delicious pasta with the added bonus of only needing to scrub a single pot. Hallelujah, let’s get started.

Ingredients

Olive oil (approximately 2 tbsp)

2 medium or large zucchinis

A handful of grape tomatoes, halved

Pesto

Directions

1. Slice the top and bottom off each zucchini.

2. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zucchini to create ribbons that look like pappardelle pasta (discard the skin though)

3. Over a medium-low flame, heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil. I like to add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the oil, you know to get things sizzlin’.

4. Once the oil is warm, drop the zucchini ribbons into the skillet. Use a pair of tongs to toss the ribbons and evenly coat in oil. Since they’re so thin, you must continually move the ribbons with the tongs to avoid burning.

5. After about a minute, toss in the tomato halves and keep turning the zucchini.

6. After about 6-8 minutes, your zucchini should be ready to go. Use the tongs (they’re my zucchini pasta BFF) to transfer the zucchini from skillet to plate. Scoop the tomatoes out.

7. Add a dollop of pasta to the bowl of zucchini pasta and tomatoes. I always have a rather generous hand when it comes to pesto, Trader Joe’s is just so darn good!

I’ve seen fancy zucchini “zoodlers” at Bed Bath + Beyond but a handy dandy vegetable peeler does the trick just fine. Have you tried zucchini pasta? And if you have tips on spaghetti squash, it’s a recipe I’ve yet to get right!

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