Spiralized Zucchini Salad with Mushrooms and Basil

This spiralized zucchini salad with mushrooms and basil is the best in the last few weeks of summer when everything is in its peak. It’s flavorful and filling!

With the start of the school year, I’m not yet ready to let go of summer completely! We technically have two more weeks until the official start of fall, and both farmers markets and our garden are still pushing out basil, rosemary, and zucchini. There’s no time like the present to take full advantage of this bounty! This spiraled zucchini salad with mushrooms and basil makes use of this gorgeous vegetable.

TYPES OF ZUCCHINI

There are so many types of zucchini out there: 8-ball, romanesco, pattypans, green zucchini, yellow zucchini, and more. Yellow zucchini and yellow squash are not the same, did you know? Yellow squash has a thin top and a round bottom, while yellow zucchini is just that – a regular zucchini that’s yellow, and the shape is long and uniform. In this recipe, you can use yellow zucchini as I have, summer squash, or any other type of zucchini you’d like to spiralize as long as it’s long and uniform. The little pattypans don’t work well for this purpose.

THE SECRET OF LATE SUMMER

It’s in late summer when the plants give out their final push before seed. Farmers markets, too, have amazing prices for late season herbs and veggies too (in fact, I just made the most amazing pesto two weeks in a row, in September!) It’s still super warm where we are, so light meals are still in order ~ something that fills me up with delicious flavors while keeping me light and agile for activities. Salads with great flavor, load of herbs, good quality fats, and good textures. This salad has it all: meaty mushrooms, herby basil and rosemary, creamy artichoke hearts, al dente raw zucchini noodles, and sweet caramelized onions. My kind of meal!

SPIRALIZED ZUCCHINI (or Zoodles)

Zoodles are basically a zucchini noodle, made out or raw zucchini. They’re water rich, high in fiber, light in calories, and super easy to make (plus they don’t make me sleepy like regular pasta does). Making zodles is actually quite easy. You can use any of these options to create wonderful noodles every time.

1. Just a veggie peeler will do. Make thin strips out of a long green or yellow zucchini. They will be flat, but still delicious, and have a very interesting bite.
2. Use a wider veggie peeler and make wide noodles. Something like this will also come in handy when making zucchini noodles for lasagna, like in this recipe.
3. I use a spiralizer tool like this one. Yes, it’s another mini gadget in the house, and as someone who enjoys being minimal, I actually get a lot out use out of it. I love mine.

TEMPLATE AND VARIATIONS

The spiraled zucchini is a template for so many variations. Use it as a base for:

• Fresh tomatoes, garlic and olive oil
• Sautéed mushrooms and onions, as I used here
• Plant-based almond ricotta and olives
• Avocado and fresh salsa
• Loads of fresh herbs and tahini dressing
• Add in your favorite proteins like smoky chickpeas, tempeh, etc
• If you’re not a fan of the “al dente” taste, feel free to quickly sautéed the zoodles in a bit of oil or water to soften, then proceed with the recipe.
• Feel free to add odds and ends of leftover veggies (if you do Bright Line Eating™ like I do, you’ll have a lot of those): in this recipe, I used some leftover green zucchini rounds too.
• Proteins this pares well with: smoky chickpeas, tempeh, and any type of bean. 

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