Note: I originally tucked this recipe, along with many others, in the “recipes” section of this site without posting about it. But I have recently had a bunch of reader questions about it and a whole lot of traffic leading to it, so I figure I owe you more detail, which comes along with a little kitchen love story.
Once upon a time, I met a very nice woman whose name is Gretchen. She worked with a very nice man whose name is Larry at a very nice company called Oxo. This was long, long ago, before the internet was bigger than magazines and in a time when blogs were nothing more than gnats in the media air. (If you can’t remember that time, you are either very old or very young and should therefore be cooking only when supervised.)
Oxo is an unusual company. It makes kitchen tools designed to be gentle on human bodies and make cooks’ lives easier. That is cool, but this is even better: Oxo grew and grew and grew based solely on the merit of their products, and never once advertised. Gretchen met regularly with food editors and writers at magazines and newspapers and explained the virtues of each and every new product. The editors and writers then did what they do and told readers about these great kitchen tools. So the company grew even more.
I was one of those writers and over the years, Gretchen and I became outside-of-work friends. But loving Gretchen doesn’t make me love her products. Oxo products seduce me all by themselves in a cheerfully straightforward way: they call out to me with a perky voice and say, “Check me out! I am über smart and I will make your life easier and your readers’ lives easier –and I am not too expensive and I am easy to find.” Not every product wows me, and some definitely thrill me more than others. Which leads me, finally, to my kitchen love story.
This is a julienne peeler. It is not a cool “chef” tool. Chefs are expected to julienne– that is, cut foods into the size and shape of matchsticks– using their chef’s knives. I can do that– but I would rather use this. I love it so much I get teased about it.
See those little teeth on the blade? They turn potato, carrot, parsnip, and zucchini into elegant long, thin strands. And that plastic top flips over the blade so a hand reaching into your drawer will not be julienned.
One day several years ago I brought my julienne peeler into a class I was teaching at ICE (Institute of Culinary Education). Students were as smitten as I was, which was geek-love validation. I told Gretchen about it, and she sent me a whole box (!) of julienne peelers to keep as my private stash at ICE. (My Oxo stash at school has since expanded to include other products. I’ll tell you about them as they come up.)
Julienned carrots make salads look beautiful; fried strands of potato atop a mound of mashed potato makes a dinner plate look restaurant-fancy. One Thanksgiving I cooked julienned carrot and parsnip together and glazed them with an orange ginger sauce, and even my imperious grandmother was impressed. But my all-time, absolute favorite use for my julienne peeler is Zucchini Spaghetti.
Making zucchini spaghetti
Zucchini “Spaghetti”
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 pound zucchini (about 2 medium), cut in long thin julienne strands (4-5 cups strands)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup grape cherry tomatoes, halved
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute, or until just softened. Add the zucchini and salt and cook, tossing frequently, until zucchini is crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the tomatoes. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the lemon juice and cheese. Add the red pepper flakes if desired.
Makes 4 servings
78 calories, 4 g protein, 6 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 5 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 235 mg sodium
Please note: Oxo and Gretchen have no idea I am writing this post: they are not compensating me for doing so. Oxo provides us with product to test and use. When I feel readers and students benefit by knowing about products, I write about and discuss them. My opinions are genuine and can’t be bought.
As a part-Italian weight watcher, I can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks so much, Marge.
Zucchini spaghetti is a great way to get some of the satisfaction of pasta without as many calories. A really cool thing to do is mix the two: it extends the pleasure of the spaghetti, but gives it more flavor (and nutrients).And it makes you feel like you are eating more pasta than you are– a very good thing when the scale starts making snarky comments.
This recipe sounds soooo good. I can’t wait to try it.
This sounds incredibly yummy. And I have the oxo tool to use!
I bet I know where you got yours…
I think this is one of the few kitchen gadgets I don’t have…but I will soon!
When I first got my julienne peeler, I made everything with it…my salads were beautifully topped with anything I could find. Now, it is hiding in my utensil drawer, but today I will resurrect it…julienned lemon and orange rind atop hot corn bread…delicious! Thanks, Marge for the reunion!
Bring it on!
I never used mine for citrus zest– I would have thought I’d get too much pith. But now that you mention it, I bet you’re right. ‘ll try it– thanks, Linda!
Margie. Love you. Love the recipe. When are you coming over to make it?!You can even use my Julienne Peeler. Funny, every time I use a julienne peeler, I think of you.
XOXO.
I could use yours, Gretch, or I could BYOJP.
I pride myself in cutting a perfect julienne, and have been dramatically downsizing my kitchen gadgets…still this one may have to make the cut (pun not intended, but laughter is more than welcome!).
Oh, a julienne peeler pun! Happiness!
My jp and the microplane…when I think about it, in addition to my knives, there aren’t many other items I really would miss. A reamer, vegetable peeler…the rest is spatulas and spoons. What, then, is taking up all the room in my kitchen drawers?!
Thank you for this post. I am a hugh fan of OXO products. I am ordering this one right away, then I’m trying the Zucchini recipe. My mouth is watering already. Thanks again,
Katora
This sounds,good.Can’t wait to give it a try.Thank Dianne Stanley
Thanks for posting this recipe and story. Pasta and I are not friends; it does nasty things to my tummy. But I love spaghetti, even though it doesn’t love me. I gave it up though – threw in the proverbial towel when even “organic” and “non-GMO” pasta still killed me. This is a great recipe for someone like me, and I am definitely going to get that little tool too. Yes, I can julienne with a chef’s knife too, but why if that thing is so awesome? I’m not too snobby to use a tool that works.
Wait, was I the only one waiting for a love story between Gretchen and Larry? Darn.
Loved your article. It gives humanity to a dish of julienned vegetables. I consider myself a minimalist cook and avoid having “gadgets” but this is the one I will definitely buy.
The julienne peeler and the microplane are my two beloved “gadgets”…beyond those, I stick to the classic tools. Someday, I think, these two shall also be called classic tools.
just finished preparing zucchini pasta,my grandson is the first to try and he liked it yay!!!!!!!