146. Eggplant and zucchini "pasta" salad - Recipe

Eggplant and zucchini "pasta" salad

A friend described a meal she ate at a restaurant that served raw food. It was zucchini "pasta" with salsa cruda. She described the ribbons of zucchini and said that the restaurant has a special machine to make it. I figured it is probably a mandoline. It sounded so good I decided to make my own zucchini and eggplant "pasta".

Working with the mandoline is a superb way to practice "mindfulness" - to live in the moment and to be engaged completely in the task at hand. In this case, it is a necessity. To make the long ribbons, I put the zucchini on the mandoline and laid the palm of my hand flat on top of it. Then I pressed down and pushed the vegetable through the blade. Lose your concentration for a moment and you might do yourself some serious harm.

Here is my recipe - I think this dish works well as an appetizer.

Ingredients: Serves 2 as an appetizer

1 small tender zucchini
1 long Asian eggplant
A tablespoon of Satay paste or any hot sauce you like
A tablespoon of light soy sauce
Some shredded ginger and green onions
A little bit of minced garlic
Salt and pepper
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Asian eggplant

A very large zucchini a friend grew. It has quite a heft and could be used as a club! I used the smaller one for this dish

I used this spicy paste as zucchini and eggplant are quite bland vegetables and need a little bit of hot spice.

Method:

1. Slice the zucchini and eggplant into thin strips. The eggplant oxidizes almost immediately so don't linger when preparing them. Plunge them into the hot water ASAP.
   
2. I didn't want to eat raw vegetables so I blanched them in boiling water for about 20 seconds and then put them into cold water baths.
3. Drain the vegetables well. The eggplant absorbs water like blotting paper. I had to squeeze them gently to extract the water and then fluff them back into shape.
4. Put the vegetables in a serving bowl or plate and add a teaspoon of oil. Mix gently. After all your work to make the ribbons you don't want to break them into pieces. I used the chili oil that floats on top of the Satay sauce.
5. Mix the soy sauce, satay paste together and add the garlic, shredded ginger and green onions.
6. Microwave for about 20 to 30 seconds. It depends on your microwave wattage but it should take less than a minute. Any longer and everything will burn.
7. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and mix gently.
8. Garnish with some sesame seeds.
9. Enjoy!
   

Eggplant "pasta" in the coldwater bath

Zucchini "pasta" in the coldwater bath

This recipe is South Beach Diet friendly.

I am entering this recipe for Weekend Herb Blogging. The excellent food blogging event created by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen.

This weekend's host is Ulrike from Kuchenlatein. This is a bi-lingual blog which has beautiful baking recipes. There is also a very educational post on Irish whiskey.