Zucchini pasta with basil and scallions
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Darrian Wilkins
- Last update: June 24, 2022
Zucchini pasta with basil and scallions
Call it pasta. Call it salad. Just don’t call it pasta salad. Using a vegetable as a “noodle” is a great way to keep your kitchen cool in the summer. There is no heat applied and every ingredient can come straight from the fridge. All you need are a few good knife skills to create very thin noodle-like strands from vegetables. My noodles ended up about a 1/16th of an inch thick: perfect for a noodle. Add a little bit of extra flavorings and you are ready for dinner.
You need:
- 5 zucchini
- 2 large bunches of fresh basil
- 6 scallions
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
How to make it:
- Take the zucchini and slice into very thin slices with a sharp chef’s knife.
- Stack the slices to recreate the original shape of the zucchini. With your knife, slice into 1/16th of an inch strips.
- Place all zucchini noodles into a colander and lightly salt. Let sit for 30 minutes to pull excess moisture out of the vegetables.
- Move to a large bowl. Chop basil into very thin pieces, like a chiffonade. Add to zucchini.
- Slice the greens of the scallions and add to the noodles.
- Season with salt and pepper, and add olive oil and vinegar. Toss well to coat each noodle with the dressing.
- Feel free to add any of these ingredients to make the dish even better: lemon juice, crushed red pepper, thinly sliced garlic, goat cheese, pine nuts, mustard. Enjoy!