Cheezy Spaghetti Siciliano –

A Meatless Monday Recipe

Since many of last month’s classes featured spiralized zucchini,  we ordered a case of one of my favorite kitchen tools – the Joyce Chen Spiral Slicer. That case went almost instantly and we have another one arriving any day now.  Available for $28.00.  Special Offer:  Combine with one of our nut milk bags (nylon or pure hemp) for only $35.00!

A raw foods staple, spiralized zucchini does double duty as a surprisingly palatable pasta.  So much so that it fooled my teenage goddaughter.   I served her this dish on her last visit and her comment was “Auntie LJ, I thought you didn’t eat pasta.”  NOTE: You can still make this dish without a spiralizer – just use a vegetable peeler and make flat, linguine-style noodles.  That’s what I used for over a year when I first went raw!

Spiral slicers are not just for raw foodies; I have served it as a very popular side dish to non-vegan guests, who appreciate the tantalizing texture, great taste and superior food combining.  Substitute this angel hair zucchini for starchy sides when enjoying chicken, fish or meat dishes and you will feel and look fabulous as this is superior food combining to the typical pastas, rice or potatoes that traditionally are served.

There are many spiral slicers on the market, but I find this one the easiest to use.  It has a convenient cup for catching the spiralized veggies (squash, apples, cucumbers – these are all I’ve experimented with so far) and best of all you can either achieve an excellent angel hair consistency or flip a switch and get very cool connected spirals, that make lovely cucumber or apple salads and slaws.

I will have them at all of my upcoming events, if you are local.  For out-of-towners, would be happy to ship to you.  Contact me lj@naturalwellnessacademy.org if you want one of these (we will eventually get them integrated into the online store.)

 Cheezy Spaghetti Siciliano

Raw, Vegan, Gluten-Free

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini

5-6 fresh basil leaves – shredded

2 roma tomatoes, cut into chunks

10-12 sundried or kalamata olives, chopped

3 TB. extra virgin olive oil

2 TB. nutritional yeast flakes

1/3 cup sundried tomatoes – soaked for 1-2 hours

1-2 garlic cloves

¼ cup of capers, rinsed

1 tsp. oregano

½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Option:  Can top with “Raw-Mezan Cheese”, nutritional yeast or crumbled cheesy kale chips

Preparation:  Using a spiralizer, cut zucchini into manageable chunks and spiral into angel hair “pasta.”  If you don’t have this kitchen utensil, peel thin strips lengthwise into wide “fettucine noodles”   Place the zucchini in a large bowl.

Place the tomatoes, soaked sundried tomatoes with 2 TB. of soaking water, olive oil, garlic, and oregano into blender or food processor.  Pulse on low speed until mixed but still chunky.

Pour sauce over zucchini, mixing through to cover all of the strands.  Toss in the olives, capers and red pepper flakes.  Garnish with basil leaves.    Shake the nutritional yeast over the dish to give a cheese-like topping.

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