Garden Fresh Zucchini & Herb Pasta Recipe

Zucchini can be such an abundant crop!  However, you may start to wonder, what am I going to do with all of this squash!!?? Today we are going to teach you how to make Zucchini Spaghetti! This is a delicious and easy way to use zucchini even when it is very large and may be too tough for other recipes. It is a super healthy alternative to traditional pasta that allows you to bring more garden fresh ingredients to your table!

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 INGREDIENTS:

•  Zucchini
• Cherrie Tomatoes
• Swiss Chard
• Garlic
• Olive Oil or Butter
• Basil
• ​Parmesan Cheese
• ​Sea Salt

 INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Harvest Zucchini, Cherrie Tomatoes, Swiss Chard, Garlic & Basil.
2. Cut Zucchini into noodle strands using a vegetable mandolin or spiralizer. If you don't have one, you can use a cheese grater. Set aside noodles.
3. Chop Cherrie Tomatoes, Swiss Chard leaves removed from stems, Basil and Garlic.
4. Heat a large pan on medium-high heat.
5. Melt butter, then add garlic. Cook garlic until fragrant and translucent. Don't let the garlic burn.
6. Add zucchini noodles and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Zucchini noodles cook really fast, so taste a strand as you cook and decide how firm or "al-dente" you want the zucchini. Don't overcook the zucchini noodles or else they'll become mush.
7. Remove the pan from the heat, add parmesan cheese, fresh Basil, Swiss Chard and Cherrie Tomatoes and season to taste with sea salt. Serve warm and enjoy!

Top Tools to Create Vegetable Noodles:

• Don’t peel the zucchini. Peeled zucchini noodles are mushy and have little crunch. Plus, it adds a step and we’re looking for dinner on the table fast.
• Don’t salt the zucchini ahead or time or while it cooks in the pan. Salt draws out water from the zucchini. This will make it less crunchy when it’s cooked. Since salt makes things taste good, we prefer to salt the sauce and not the zucchini.
• Don’t overcook. The noodles should be cooked to al dente (just like pasta). This means they will look wilted, but still have a crunch.

Since zucchini has a tendency to become watery, we do our best to reduce this as much as possible in our recipe. Even so, you will still find some water left at the bottom of the serving bowl. This is okay with us. The liquid mixes with tomato, garlic, cheese, and olive oil, so it’s delicious.