This dish is adapted from Gwenyth Paltrow’s fried zucchini spaghetti recipe from her new cookbook My Father’s Daughter. Now this Oscar-winning, country-singing, glee-starring, lifestyle-blogging, rockstar-marrying, mother-of-twoing, is also a bonafide cookbook author. I watched her make this simple dish on Rachel Ray today and happened to have a couple of fresh zucchini in the fridge and thought, let’s see how good this Goopster’s food is.
GP’s version was a little simpler, but I happened to have some fresh herbs in the fridge so I added those. And I wanted to do a bit of a detox today after a big-eating weekend, so I opted out on the cheese she used as her sauce base. Instead, I made lemon, garlic, and chili-infused olive oil which is jam-packed with flavour and a little more heart-healthy than cheese. (PS – D put some parmesan on his and said it was awesome).
Infused olive oil is super easy to whip up, useful, and tasty. A trifecta. I first learned how to make it watching Food Networks Anne Burrell on her show ‘Secrets of a Restaurant Chef’. I combined her infused oil with GP’s fried zucchini and voila – a tasty fast light meal from my two favourite blonde foodies. You’ll end up with extra infused oil which you can use to grill veggies or to dip your bread into.
Fresh summer zucchini is so yummy – delicate and light. The nutrients are all in the skin so don’t peel them. Using a mandoline makes the slicing super fast and uniform.
I know fried food isn’t exactly detoxifying but… you know… it’s delicious, vegetarian and gluten-free. I mean it works for Gwenyth right (like how hot is her body?) And it’s seriously fast. From beginning to end, the entire thing took me 18 minutes and this recipe is definitely going in the weeknight dinner rotation. Good going Gwenny.
My preferred GF pasta and Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour
Fast Fried Zucchini Spaghetti
INGREDIENTS
Infused Oil:
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- zest of 1 lemon (about 1 Tbsp)
- 1 tsp dried chili flakes
- In a small saucepan (bring all the ingredients to a boil. Let simmer for about 1 minute, until fragrant, and remove from heat. Set aside until ready to use.)
Fried Zucchini Pasta:
- 6 oz dried Gluten Free Spaghetti (enough for 2)
- 2 zucchinis (thinly sliced into rounds)
- 2 Tbsp Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
- Canola oil for frying
- Salt + pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)
- 1 Tbsp fresh mint (chopped)
- Chili flakes (optional)
- Parmesan cheese (option, omit for vegan version)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Boil pasta in salted water according to package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add sliced zucchini and GF flour. Toss until zucchini is evenly coated.
- In a large non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of canola oil. Add zucchini slices in batches. Lay zucchini in an even layer and fry on each side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt immediately. Continue frying until all zucchini is done.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta and 2 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water, 3 tablespoons of the infused oil, mint, parsley, salt and pepper to taste, and Parmesan cheese if using. Toss to combine. Add fried zucchini and serve. Garnish with extra Parmesan, chili flakes, and infused oil (optional).
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