Let me start by saying that I am not a vegetarian and my blog’s lack of recipes in that category really speaks for itself but when you see a picture of a dish like this, you know you just might become a convert. Weird enough, this recipe includes zucchini, a vegetable that I don’t really care too much about, but combined with roasted tomatoes, which is a household favorite, was enough to make me curious.
So here I am getting ready to jump into action, when I realized I have no idea how to turn zucchini into pasta, obviously trying to julienne the thing with a knife was out of the question and I couldn’t think of anything that might have helped me to achieve that. I know, cooking sucks when you have no formal training. Anyway, after scratching my head for a while, I remembered I have a mandoline (the instrument is called mandolin :P) so I tried that for a while. It didn’t work and I almost julienne’d one of my fingers, mostly because zucchini are not in season anymore and the ones I got were small and pathetic. In the end, I used a grater and it worked just fine though you still need a lot of patience and to watch your fingers. That’s all there is to it, that and the fact that you don’t actually cook the zucchini, you eat it raw. If you get over that step, the rest is walk in the park and let me say this, the damn dish is delicious.
I want to thank Simone, from Simone’s Kitchen, for giving me the inspiration in making this amazing dish.
- 9 oz (250g) cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp parsley
- ¼ tsp basil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely cut
- a pinch of chili flakes
- ¼ tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp parsley
- ¼ tsp basil
- ½ cup crushed tomatoes (from a can or you can make it yourself)
- ½ cup olives, pitted
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1-2 zucchini (can't tell for sure because it depends of the size of them)
- juice of 1 lemon (I used Meyer lemon)
- 1 tbsp fresh basil, coarsley chopped
- Preheat the oven to 350° F / 175° C
- Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and place them into a baking pan (whatever size you have), add one to two tablespoons of olive oil then sprinkle with ½ tsp oregano, ½ tsp parsley, ½ tsp basil and salt and pepper to taste; toss to coat. Bake them for about 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are a bit wrinkled.
- Heat oil into a frying pan and add onions and chili flakes; cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Add the rest of ingredients, turn to low heat and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes with the lid on.
- Meanwhile, make spaghetti strands from zucchini. Put these in a bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice and basil.
- When sauce is done, pour over zucchini, add roasted tomatoes and serve.
Jen and Emily @ Layers of Happiness says
For someone who isn’t a vegetarian… you sure know how to whip up quite the mean vegetarian meal! This looks awesome… can’t wait to try it. 🙂
Remo says
LOL and I thought nobody cares about my “stories”. Yeah, this dish was different that my usual stuff, that’s for sure lol.
Ohmydish.com says
Delicious! We love zucchini, so thank you very much for sharing this awesome recipe!
Remo says
My pleasure!
Niecy says
I need to fix that meal. Smart eating right there!