Zoodles Caprese

Once again we are blessed/cursed with a glut of courgettes in the garden. I say blessed because I love courgettes. I also say cursed because I can barely keep up with them, and the OH really dislikes them. Sometimes I find one hiding underneath a leaf, and instead of a courgette, I end up with a boulder-like marrow. While courgettes are great to cook with, marrows are watery beasts, which are more like a weapon than a useful ingredient.

Thankfully I managed to pluck a few small tender courgettes for this simple lunch dish. Zoodles or zucchini noodles became trendy in the last year or so. I don’t own a spiralizer, but you can easily make zoodles by using a vegetable peeler to cut thin horizontal strips, and then use a knife to chop them into noodles. No fancy new kitchen gadgets required. This recipe is sort of a mish mash of a Caprese salad and zoodles, with fresh basil, creamy mozzarella and juicy tomatoes dressed in a delicious basil oil. It’s a super quick lunch dish, and is much lighter than a big bowl of pasta.  So, if you like me are overrun with courgettes, this is a really tasty way to enjoy your summer harvest.

For more courgette recipes, check out my round up here.

Serves 2

Ingredients

Basil Dressing

• 12g of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 30ml of olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Zoodles

• 2 medium sized courgettes, tops and tails removed
• 2 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• Salt and pepper
• 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 75g of buffalo mozzarella, torn into bite size pieces
• Fresh basil, to garnish

Method:

1. To make the dressing, blend the basil, olive oil, and garlic in a food processor.
2. Once the mixture is fully blended, taste and season with salt and pepper.
3. To make the zoodles, use a vegetable peeler and knife or a spiralizer. Here is a nifty video that shows the vegetable peeler method.
4. Once you have made your zoodles, pat them dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture.
5. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over a medium heat.
6. Add the zoodles and crushed garlic and cook for about 5-8 minutes, until just cooked but still tender.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Pour the zoodles into a serving dish.
9. Dress with the basil dressing, and add the chopped tomatoes, and torn mozzarella.
10. Garnish with some basil and serve straight away.