I wish I could say I was the clever person who invented this recipe, but alas no, it was the New York Times who came out with this faux pasta recipe - sauteeing ribbons of vegetables to appear like curvy noodles. It actually made it to the top of the "Most Popular Emailed" Times article list, so I thought I should give it a try to see what all the fuss was about.
When I made my version above (when my little sister Mac was in town over Labor Day to help celebrate my birthday), however, I substituted yellow squash and cucumber for the zucchini in the Times' recipe and it turned out just as well. For hotter palates, I also turned up the proverbial heat a little by sprinkling paprika on top, which the Times doesn't do. I also sauteed a side of baby bella mushrooms to accompany the I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Pasta.
- 1 cucumber
- 1 small yellow squash
- 1 tsp. paprika
- thinly sliced parmiggiano-reggiano cheese
- Use vegetable peeler to peel ribbons of cucumber and yellow squash. It helps to chop the vegetables lengthwise first.
- Sautee in extra virgin olive oil.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Place a couple slices of parmiggiano-reggiano on top.
- Sprinkle with paprika.
While she was here, Mac took me to a lovely North African restaurant with lamb tangine with slivered almonds and moist currants to celebrate my birthday. There was even a live belly-dancer whose unreal midriff moved like one of those hypnotic bobblehead dashboard ornaments. So, new goal for this winter: I'm going to learn how to make tangine - I have a feeling it's going to take longer than 15 minutes and 5 ingredients, so it might not be blogged about here, but it must be done...
Servings: 2, Prep time: 10 minutes, Calories per Serving: 43, Pair with: Prosecco
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