Cold Sesame with Raw Zucchini, Carrot and Cucumber (Spiralized) Noodles

Cold Sesame with Raw Zucchini, Carrot & Cucumber Noodles

When I was a kid my parents would take us all to a Chinese restaurant in Flushing, Queens called The Happy Dumpling. I was just beginning to be adventurous beyond wonton soup and Cold Sesame Noodles were soon my jam! The waitress would mix all the ingredients at the table, a great way to keep restless kids entertained. The entire family loved that dish and it was the highlight of our meal there.

ZUCCHINI AND MORE ZUCCHINI

     I have been eating a lot of zucchini, and its just the start of the season, so I need to start getting creative. My go to is either Zucchini Stew or Pasta with Zucchini. Yesterday, I had the most unbelievable Zucchini Puree from a little cafe in the West Village which I am going to try to recreate. It was outrageous. Here, I made a combination Rocco Nonna Zucchini Pasta. 

    Rocco will usually slice the zucchini really thin, then fry it and serve it over pasta in a spicy garlic and oil sauce. Its superb. 

    Nonna simply stews the zucchini with garlic for a lighter pasta dish. So I took the best of both worlds. 

     I made the stew as the base of the sauce, then combined it with a garlic sauteed in oil and peperoncino. The I topped it with some fried zucchini slices and ended up with a remarkably delicious zucchini pasta that is really nice topped with fresh grated romano cheese. It seems like more steps but in the end it was easier because frying 50 zucchini slices is time consuming. So while the stew is going you just fry up say 1/4 of the zucchini in slices and you still get that nice friedness with less frying toil.

ZUCCHINI STEW WITH POACHED EGGS

This started out as a Shakertown Baked Zucchini, a recipe I found in my grandma's recipe box, but I chopped up all the zucchini then realized it was a stuffed zucchini recipe where you boil the whole zucchini, scoop out the pulp and mix it with round butter crackers and cheese, then stuff it into the zucchini shell and bake. I figured I'd make a stew instead since I had some canned tomatoes left from the fava bean pasta. This zucchini stew is the same way I would prepare Pasta with Cucuzza, which is that long green squash that looks like a baseball bat. An old Julia Child cookbook I read last night was so reassuring about poaching eggs that I felt inspired. I am so bad with eggs! This is something I have seen my Nonna do many times and it always works out. I think I did a pretty good job. I used the technique where you crack the egg and hold it in the shell in the hot liquid before releasing it so it can hold its shape. It worked. Then I put the top on to let the egg cook through and it absorbed all the wonderful flavors of the stew. This would be great served with pasta or on crusty peasant bread.

ZUCCHINI STEW WITH POACHED EGGS

2 zucchinis cut in quartered then chopped

1/2 onion chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

1-2 bay leaves

1 tsp hot red pepper flakes

2 Eggs

1/2 cup tomatoes chopped or crushed (canned or fresh)

Parsley and Grated Cheese for garnish (optional)

Salt and Pepper 

Sautee onions, garlic, bay leaf and red pepper flakes for a few minutes. Add the zucchini. Season with salt and pepper. After it reduces in size a bit, add the tomatoes with a sauce from the can and add about a 1/4 C of water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for about twenty minutes until the zucchini is tender. Then poach 2 eggs on top, by cracking the eggs on top of the sauce, seasoning with salt and pepper and putting the lid on for less than 5 minutes. Garish with chopped parsley and grated cheese. Serve plain with pasta or on crusty bread.