One of my favorite things to order at an Italian Restaurant was pasta with alfredo sauce! Ooooh, how I loved my cheesy and/or creamy sauces!! But what’s a girl to do when you give up the pasta AND the dairy?!? Needless to say, it had been a long while since I tasted what seemed like I was indulging in one of my favorite Italian dishes.
I now, zoodle for noodles. Yep. I make my noodles from zucchini and/or yellow squash. It’s quite simple to do, especially if you have a spiralizer or something that “noodles” your favorite veggies. Here’s what I use but there are a handful more out there if you just google or check out amazon. If you don’t a spiralizer, you can simply use a julienne peeler to slice away at your veggies. I’ve done that many times and it works just fine! One of the biggest tips I can give someone who is making noodles from zucchini or squash, is to salt them and let them sit for a bit to release most of their moisture. I usually zoodle, lay on paper towels, sprinkle salt all over them and lay another paper towel on top and let them hang for at least an hour. If you skip this step, you may end up with a watery plate when serving up your dish :-/ You can prep other foods while this is happening. When you’re ready to use them, use dry paper towels to dab and dry them up a bit and they’re ready to go!
This “alfredo” sauce started out to be cauli-mash but I kind of went overboard with the whipping in my vitamix and it became pretty liquified ….and it gave me the idea of making it into a sauce so I added a few things here and there …..and voilà, this happened! I topped this recipe with some scallops but you can obviously add any protein on the side or toss it all in there! I have also used the sauce to top a chicken thigh or breast and have mixed it in with spaghetti squash/meatballs. The best part about this “sauce” is that it is primarily made up of cauliflower so you’ve got another veggie on the dish! Have fun with it…..and make it your own 🙂
- 2 large zucchini's
- 2 large yellow squash
- salt
- dab of favorite cooking fat (when preparing to eat)
- garlic powder
- 12 oz cauliflower steamed/softened
- 2 tbsp ghee - melted
- 2 tbsp almond milk
- 2 tbsp canned coconut milk (shake the can to incorporate)
- 2-4 tbsp nutritional yeast**
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp harissa to spice it up (this is optional)
- Using a spiralizer or julienne peeler, make noodles or stands of veggies from your squash. You can leave the skin on or off --- I do both, just depends on my mood at the time 🙂
- Lay your "noodles" on a few paper towels, spreading out so you can salt them evenly. Lightly sprinkle salt over your zoodles and lay a couple/few more paper towels on top to let the salt draw out the moisture. Let them sit at least an hour.
- You can eat these raw or toss in large pan with a dab of your favorite cooking fat and lightly warm with a little garlic powder (depending on the recipe your adding these zoodles to).
- In a blender, combine cooked cauliflower, ghee, almond milk and coconut milk. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Add 2 tbsp **nutritional yeast, garlic powder & salt. Blend until incorporated. Taste and add nutritional yeast as desired.
- Pour into small saucepan to warm up over low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Plate your zoodles and pour desired amount of sauce on top......and serve with your favorite protein.
- (Scallops:)
- In a cast iron pan, melt ghee/brown butter to a temp that would allow a drop of water to sizzle. Carefully place seasoned scallops (I use a sprinkle of salt, garlic powder and a spicy seasoning) into your hot pan.
- Let "sizzle" for 2-3 minutes on one side, turning and cooking up another 2-3 minutes.
- **My fam likes different taste levels of the nutritional yeast so that's why I have it divided 🙂
- I've made this sauce and drizzled over chicken thighs and pork. I've also tossed in with spaghetti squash.
I’m sorry these two questions may seem silly…what is cooking yeast? I feel like I went to look at some in the store before but was confused by it. There were a few different types and I had no idea what to buy. Also when you refer to your favorite cooking fat, would ghee be an option for that?
Hi Sarah! Don’t be silly….there are no silly questions! 🙂 Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast so it isn’t used like a traditional yeast in baking. It’s more of a flakey, yellow-orange texture and has a nutty, cheesy flavor so it’s often used in vegan dishes to mimic a cheese flavor. And that’s why I used it here. I find it in the bulk bins at Whole Foods and I believe the brand ‘Bob’s Red Mill’ has a nutritional yeast as well. And yes, the cooking fat is just your preferred “go-to”. Ghee is great….grass-fed butter, coconut oil and bacon fat work too. Like I said, it’s all about preference 🙂 Hope that helps!