Food In The Fort

This is one of those healthy eating gimmicks that I always look askance at. You know, those little tricks like making fresh “ice cream” by throwing a couple of frozen bananas in your blender. You and I both know any resemblance to ice cream lies only in the mind of the diet guru trying to sell you their book. Sure it might be tasty, and it might even be palatable but it’s not what it promised to be and you only end up feeling cheated.

So when I saw this video showing how to substitute summer squash for fettuccine making the rounds of the food blogs a couple of weeks ago I thought this was just more of the same food fakery. But I needed something to make to bring with me to book club this past Tuesday so I decided to use Fort Wayne’s literati as guinea pigs.

Well, dear readers, let me be the first to admit I was wrong. This is a wonderful way of cutting back on the carbs or getting the pasta experience if you happen to be gluten sensitive. Oh, to be sure, it is not pasta. It smells like squash, it tastes like squash and the texture is just slightly off from that of a nice al dente noodle. Who cares!? It’s frickin’ delicious and takes all of ten minutes to make. Twenty if you count the peeling, which goes much faster than you’d expect.

As the video shows, simply use your vegetable peeler (known as a veggie twaddler in this house) and slice thin strips off your squash, rotating every strip.

The only downside is that the process could be considered enormously wasteful since you end up throwing away about a third of each squash (the core with the seeds which is impossible to peel). Then simply saute your “noodles” for about two to three minutes over medium-high heat in about a table spoon of olive oil.

You’re going to have to eyeball the amount of oil, and the exact time you saute the squash peelings. The problem is that, much like the American economy, squash will pretty much soak up all the oil you throw at it. You want just enough to coat it and keep it from sticking.

As for the time, the amount of moisture in your squash is going to determine that. Be careful, because they will burn in an instant and turn to soggy mush just before that. What you want to look for is the color change. You’ll know your squash noodles are done when their color turns bright yellow (or green — zucchini works too).

Oh, and depending on how much squash you’re cooking at once, saute it in batches. That’ll help ensure that it cooks evenly.

Squash Pasta with a light Rosemary-Garlic Butter Sauce
Ingredients

• 3 large summer squash
• 3 large zucchini
• 2-3 tbsp. olive oil (I ended up using just over two tablespoons)
• 2-3 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1-2 tbsp. butter (depending on how big your squash were, or how much you like butter)
• 1/2 tsp. dried, ground rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• Pinch of salt (optional)

Preparation

1. Twaddle your squash as above
2. Toss with lemon juice
3. Heat large pan over medium-high heat
4. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and allow to come up to temperature
5. Saute roughly 1/3 of the squash noodles, stirring frequently
6. Remove to a separate dish and repeat process two more times
7. After all the squash noodles are finished sauteing, add butter to pan
8. Allow butter to melt and add in rosemary and garlic
9. Add a pinch of salt if desired
10. Reduce heat and stir melted butter, rosemary and garlic
11. Add squash noodles back into pan, toss with butter mixture and serve

Well, this is one dish I will certainly be adding into my regular rotation. My bookish compatriots thoroughly enjoyed this dish too. It’s not often that something that proclaims itself “healthy and delicious” ends up fulfilling its promise but believe me, this one does not disappoint.

About the author:  Leo is a technologist and writer living in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is a transplant to the Mid West from Central New York and was promised cheaper gas and better winters. He feels somewhat lied to in this respect but otherwise finds the people pleasant. Read more from this author