spaghetti?

[nursinmamaa]

Ok, I have a question. My daughter wants to go raw with me, and she likes all the looks of the raw pasta dishes, but they all call for zucchini. She does not like zucchini and honestly I am not totally thrilled by it either. Any ideas of an alternative? We were thinking of trying a cucumber instead.

Jill

[Fuzzball]

Have you had zucchini raw with a "Pasta" sauce on it?

I'm amazed at how close it can seem to real angel hair pasta.

We fed a non-raw friend some of our raw spaghetti and he loved it.

With Cukes I would be concerned about the stability, but that's just a personal thing....and really, that's what this is all about...as long as it's raw, do what YOU like and don't worry about what others think....

[Rawkinlocs]

One quick question: When you say she doesn't like zucchini, do you mean raw or cooked? Have you tried it (raw) with the sauce?

The reason I ask is because, I didn't like cooked zucchini or squash either. But with the sauce and all jazzed up (add some chopped onions and bell peppers, mushrooms if you like them, etc. and even try lightly tossing in the sauce and putting on the dehydrator for a little bit (which is optional, but something to try if you find the raw veggies too "crunchy" for your tastes) for a REAL spaghetti experience!) My kids LOVE it because as Victoria Boutenko said, if the SAUCE is really good, it won't matter what you use for the "pasta".

But some other alternatives used can be:
banana (yellow) squash
sweet potatoes (I've done this with good results but just rinse it off after you spiralize it to remove the starchiness)
seedless cucumbers (Sweetlips says it reminds her of the clear noodles in Asian dishes)
Daikon radish (Victoria B. used this on her food prep video)
And probably other things...you can play around and experiment with different hard veggies to see what you come up with.

[Rawkinlocs]

fuzzball, we were typing at the same time! :D

[love6kids]

I have to agree with what has already been said...
Prior to "raw" I hated zuccini. I didn't like it cooked or raw. However, when I tried the Fettucine Alfredo from Alissa's book, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It is SO good!
Oh my....you won't believe it's zuccini!

[jaurequi]

My favorite vegetable to use is turnips. As well, a combination of zucchini and turnips is great.
I also use rutabagas sometimes.

Salting, rinsing, and draining softens the vegetables quite a bit and creates a softer "pasta."

:)

[Autumn]

When I first made zucchini and squash "spaghetti" for my husband, he didn't know it wasn't angel hair. Try it, you may like it after all since it doesn't really taste like zucchini and/or squash.

[tracyinfo]

I have used butternut squash, beets and carrots. All of them are delicious alternatives to zucchini. I have the saladacco to shave them into angel hair. The carrots take the most muscle power, but well worth it. The beets are divine and the butternut squash is great! I also, use these in combinations for a wonderful, colorful meal.

Blessings.

[VeganVixen]

yes Tracy , the carrot strands are yummy !!!!

[nursinmamaa]

Hmmm.. carrots, now that is an idea.
Yes, she has tried raw and cooked zucchini, she likes neither. :(
(Come to think of it she does like yellow squash though. Hmmm....)
The taste seemed to overwhelm me the other day when I tried it too. Maybe when we get deeper into raw our tastes will change and we will like it.
I will try the other ideas too.
Thank you so much for the ideas.

[CAdreamer]

Be sure that the zucchini is as freshly picked as possible (mine are home grown), and not too large. The larger they are the pithier they are and less likely to taste the best to someone who is new at trying the zuke spaghetti.

With a raw tomato, or fresh pesto on top or mixed in, you can hardly taste the zucchini. Also, you might like it best if warmed instead of room temp or cold.

[Sweet lips]

I do not like at all, ever, no way Jose, gross me out raw angel hair pasta zucchini. :eek; I suppose you can gather that I do not like it even a little bit.

With that said, Rawkinlocs is right, I spirooli the english version or seedless cucumber and it really reminds me of the asian cellophane noodles. I mix this as veggie lo-mein and a few minutes on the deydrator it is magnifico!

Okay zucchini - to be fair to you, I did spirooli you and discover that you raised up a little bit, and were better, but not my A #1 dog. That was until I marinated it in a little garlic infused olive oil and then I could see your potential when my taste buds go through the simple life change.

The butternut squash is better to me.

I do agree that the better the sauce it will hide a multitude of sins except the sin of angel hair zucchini - with that said, and because I am always willing to eat my words - I may try it again in August when the harvest is plentiful, tender l and just see, but ....., we will see. :D

There is a suggest that does work - if you are doing angel hair :rolleyes: , lay it on a paper towel and let it dry, it will ( Okay, Mr and Mrs. Zucchini, you know I do recomend you for other type of noodle), with a little olive oil and celtic salt tast a bit more like the real thing - and to be fair, I didn't like cooked angel hair either. :D