The secret is in the peanut sauce! A jar kept in the fridge of this delicious sauce is your busy day savior!
As we all slip and slide towards the end of the year it is so easy to derail your healthy eating habits. The days get so exhausting and coming home after a long day makes it hard to cook a grand meal. This Noodles and Zoodles dish is a snap to put together when you have a stash of the peanut sauce on the ready, even if you don’t, the sauce takes just a minute to blitz in the blender. Not only is it quick and super easy, it’s also so soul satisfying after a day of dashing through the snow.
I have pulled together some spaghetti, but any noodle will do, including soba or rice noodles. To that I added an equal amount of zucchini noodles, which are quickly blanched in the pasta water. If you have some other vegetables kicking around you could add those too. Bits of broccoli or cauliflower, spinach, carrots, cabbage…. you get the idea.
One of the best parts of this recipe is that you most likely already have most of the ingredients in the pantry with perhaps the exception of the seasoned rice vinegar. In a pinch you can substitute some white vinegar with a squeeze of lemon or lime.
Feeling like you need more heft? You can add a few slices of seared Tofu or Tempeh right on in there and you are good to go. While you are at it, make a double batch- the noodles are awesome cold for lunch the next day too!
Use the sauce for your grain bowls, as a dressing on a sandwich, dip your spring rolls into it, or even use as a dip for crudite.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound of spaghetti or other long noodles
- 1 medium/large zucchini zoodled, or cut into long ribbons by hand
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- Peanut Sauce:
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon minced chili- or 1 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until done.
Meanwhile, in a blender combine the ingredients for the peanut sauce and give it a good blitz. Set aside until ready to use. As I stated in the post, feel free to double or triple this recipe and keep a jar in the fridge.
When the pasta is finished cooking remove the noodles with tongs, preserving the pasta water.
Add the zucchini and cook for 30 seconds just to take the raw edge off and give it a bright green color.
Combine the noodles, zoodles, and onion in a large bowl. Spoon half the dressing over and gently toss.
Garnish each serving with the peanuts and cilantro.