Tweaked from thehealthyfoodie.com
Not that we Tujis are particularly committed calorie counters (I prefer counting nutrients – the more, the better!), but it must be said: fettuccini in this form will save you from a TON of the often-feared calorie.
A silky white sauce made from cauliflower & cashews instead of cheese, cream and butter? A pile of noodles made from zucchini instead of white pasta? Yup, low cal and high in nutrients. Plus, it’s so tasty you won’t even miss the old stuff.
Tip: A vegetable peeler will work just fine to make the zucchini noodles. Although most recipes recommend a mandoline or a spirooli – the former can be lethal (I know of at least several knuckles skinned by mandolines – including mine) and the latter (the spirooli) can be pricey.
Ingredients
- 2-3 large zucchinis, peeled and julienned
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
- ¾ cup raw cashews
- 2 cups organic veggie stock
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
- juice of ½ lime
- 1 tsp capers
- ¾ cup mushrooms, sliced (optional)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped (to garnish)
Method
1. Place cashews into a bowl, adding enough water to submerge all the nuts.
2. Peel the zucchini (you don’t HAVE to do this, but it’ll disguise their veggie origin a little more – if you’re going for that!) and, using your veggie peeler (or mandoline or spirooli) slice your noodles into the size and shape of your choosing and then set them aside.
3. Heat a medium-sized saucepan and add onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Sauté for a couple of minutes until softened. Then add in the already-prepped cauliflower and the veggie stock. Cover the mixture and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and continue cooking until the cauliflower is tender about 5-7 minutes.
4. Next, add the mushrooms into the onion/ garlic/ cauliflower mixture and cook until nice and golden.
5. Then scrap the veggie mixture combo into a food processor. Drain the cashews and toss those in as well. Pulse until well combined and then add in the Dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, white balsamic vinegar, and lime juice and capers. Blend until super smooth and silky.
6. Divvy up the zucchini noodles onto plates and ladle the cauliflower cashew sauce on top. The heat from the sauce will warm the noodles nicely, but if like your noodles nice n’ hot – simply throw the noodles into your sauté pan for a few seconds. (Not too long – we don’t want limp, soggy noodles!)
7. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and top with, a twist of cracked black pepper and even some nicely grilled chicken if you like!
