This zucchini noodle (aka zoodle) salad contains no pasta whatsoever, but you won’t miss it. It’s great as-is for a healthy, gluten-free / paleo side dish, or use it as a base and get creative: extra vegetables will turn it into a lovely vegetarian meal; leftovers from last night’s grilled chicken, steak, or salmon are great additions too!
Ingredients
2 medium zucchini, washed and julienned into “zoodles” with a mandolin (smaller, younger zucchini will be easier to slice on the mandolin and have less seeds; if your zucchini are more mature, consider cutting them in half and removing the excess seeds with a spoon before proceeding.- Juice of 1/2 of a fresh lemon
- Juice of 1/2 of a fresh lime
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp honey
- 1/2 cup good Olive oil (I love basil infused)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 cup shredded (aged) Parmesan cheese
In a small pyrex measuring cup, blend lemon juice, lime juice, mustard, honey, and olive oil to make your vinaigrette. Taste and add salt and pepper to your preference.
Combine everything in a serving bowl — “zoodles,” vinaigrette, dried thyme, shredded parmesan — and toss well to coat. Serve immediately, or allow to rest for up to an hour to let flavors meld.
Extra Ingredient Options to Make a Full Meal
Choose one or multiple; depending on how much you add, you may want to double your vinaigrette batch:
- Grilled chicken, steak, or fish (great use of leftovers!)
- Cherry tomatoes, halved
- Shredded carrot
- Diced cucumbers
- Diced bell peppers (choose yellow for color contrast if you’ve already added tomatoes)
- Diced radishes
- Steamed broccoli florets, cut into small pieces
- 2 brussels sprouts, sliced very fine like confetti
- Fresh basil
- Snipped fresh chives (and blossoms if you like!)
- Fresh nasturtium leaves (peppery, edible, and pretty)
