Here’s something I can admit about myself — nothing sinks in the first time. I hear something, taste something, feel something, and then I store it away. Okay, there might be three people in the world who would describe me as impulsive, but most of you who know me would not. I process things slowly. I over-think, and then I think some more. About this “pasta,” if you want to call it that, I’ve been making a Michael Chiarello dish for years with spaghetti and shreds of fresh zucchini. Every time I make that dish, I think “hmm, it would be just as good without the noodles.” Now, as you’ve probably heard since I won’t stop talking about it, I’ve gone gluten-free. I’ve been experimenting with gluten-free pastas of course. Then I tried a dish with shreds of zucchini in place of the pasta from Gluten-Free Girl’s next cookbook. Her recipe is insanely good, but you’re going to have to wait a while to see it. (Sorry!) Now that summer has rolled around and zucchini is stacked up at the farmer’s market (and it’s crazy cheap too), I’ve had Shauna’s recipe on my mind. Then recently my friend Diana wrote this post with a recipe using zucchini as a substitute for Asian-style noodles. The next day I was at the farmer’s market, so of course I picked up some zucchini. I didn’t make either Shauna or Diana’s recipe — I figured I’d improvise a bit instead. It’s summer after all (or close to it), and so I went with a relatively traditional pesto-style sauce. That’s feta cheese on top. I totally borrowed that from Shauna’s recipe which is otherwise enjoyably different than mine. And though it probably wasn’t necessary, I did cook the zucchini briefly in a little olive oil because I was craving something warm.
Speaking of inspiration, I had the chance to meet Tara of Seven Spoons in person recently. It was brief, but it meant a lot to me because I’m such a big fan of her site. I asked about her photographic process, and I’m going to really paraphrase this, but she told me she doesn’t fuss with the food a lot, despite how stunning her photographs are. I’m putting words into her mouth, but she sees the natural beauty of the food. Believe me, as someone who hires some incredible food stylists on a regular basis, I have an indescribable appreciation for what they do. But as most food bloggers know, when you work alone, it’s challenging to focus on everything at once. The garnish may be wilting, the meat may be drying out, and who knows what else can go wrong after several minutes of shooting the same dish. If you learn to appreciate the natural beauty of the food, and you find a way to express that through your photography, then you might not spend as much time fussing. In fact, when you can find that natural beauty in food, posting on your blog can feel like more of an art than a chore. So I was thinking of Tara when I took these shots. I didn’t retwirl the zucchini, though I did lift it from the serving bowl with tongs to place it in the bowl. I nudged a few crumbs of feta cheese. Besides that, it is what it is, and I think it’s kind of exquisite. I’m talking about the food itself, not my photos of it. Thanks, Tara, for the inspiration.
This is awesome. I’ve seen zucchini pasta as a raw dish with tomato sauce, but it totally makes sense with pesto and Diana’s Asian style tofu (will be trying it and sent them to my mom who has been replacing rice with quinoa and will be happy to replace pasta with zucchini). Great point about not fussing with the food as well. If its over fussed sometimes it looks too perfect and unapproachable (and cold and sad).
a “cold and sad” food photo is a very bad thing
I really enjoyed reading your post today.. I love zucchini.. did you chop or slice it in ribbons? I think it’s a great change-up for pasta in so many instances! I also appreciated your blogging food photography tips.. I love Seven Spoons as well!
thanks. i used a vegetable peeler to cut the strips, which is super easy.
I’ve been tempted to try out something like this ‘pasta’, there’s also a similar recipe over on The Londoner (http://www.thelondoner.me/2012/04/skinny-spaghetti.html) where white cabbage is used instead of pasta, just in case you’re interested.
I love how simply this is served, and great photography advice!
thanks for the link to The Londoner — that dish looks great, and i wasn’t familiar with her blog
Thanks for the mention! Zucchini with feta does sounds delicious. I’m going to try cooking it briefly in a pan with olive oil next time instead of the blanching.
i think the cooking method depends on the style of the dish — this time sauteing definitely worked well
This is great! I’m definitely trying zucchini “pasta” this summer….
thanks for stopping by, Amy
This looks fantastic! I have made “pasta” with asparagus, but not zucchini. Definitely something to do this summer!
oh yeah? i’ve definitely had some asparagus “tangle” appetizers/salads before, but never a whole meal
So glad to see this post right now… the dish looks great. will definitely make my own variation! I seem to be shaving so many of my farmer’s market produce with the plastic asian mandolin and just going raw…
i usually use my plastic Asian mandoline to cut zucchini into shreds for other dishes — love it
I love zucchini pasta Justin and yours is beautiful. Love how you speak about being inspired by Tara, too.
thanks, i feel so fortunate to have met her
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This looks beautiful – and such a welcome change from pasta. Thank you so much