Zucchini Pasta

One important thing that I have learned in my efforts to make healthy comfort foods, is that vegetables are extremely versatile and can be amazing replacements in meals that you wouldn't expect could be changed up.  After cooking cauliflower crusted pizza and butternut squash mac and cheese, I have been completely impressed with the flavors that remain in the classic dishes, even with the healthy twist.  This week, I took on a healthy version of the traditional "pasta" or "spaghetti" dish, and I followed the trend of using a vegetable as the main component, by cooking zucchini noodles accompanied with a roasted red pepper sauce. This recipe eliminates the carbohydrates and offers amazing health benefits, as zucchini contains high levels of both vitamin A and C.


Ingredients
For the sauce:                    
2 roasted red peppers      
1 tablespoon olive oil        
2 oz goat cheese              
1 teaspoon salt        
For the zucchini noodles:
2 pounds zucchini
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic

Directions
1.For the sauce, add the 2 roasted red bell peppers to the blender with the rest of the sauce ingredients and blend until smooth.
2. For the zucchini noodles, use a vegetable peeler to "spiral" the zucchini into the shape of noodles.
3. Next, heat a large skillet and sauté the zucchini noodles with olive oil, onion, garlic, and salt until the noodles begin to soften, but before they start shedding water.
4. Add the sauce to the skillet and cook until the sauce is heated.

The original recipe and full directions are available on the "GI 365: Get Inspired Everyday" website.

This dish most certainly didn't taste like a traditional spaghetti dish, however it introduced me to several new flavors!  I was nervous that the zucchini noodles might not be soft enough, or may not have much flavor, but that was not the case. The noodles soaked up the sauce well, and the sauce itself had a unique, slightly spicy, flavor.  Some tips for perking up the recipe even more would be to add some hot pepper flakes before blending the sauce and to add some fresh parmesan cheese to the top once the pasta is cooked and ready to serve!