Zucchini Noodles with Almond Butter Sauce

A spiralizer showed up in my Christmas stocking last year, Santa knows I love all things great and small in the kitchen.  It's been fun to use with different foods and there's still many recipes to explore using the spiralizer, but here's a start in sharing a recipe for it - zucchini noodles.  Do I miss pasta on my Whole30 eating plan? Nope - there are too many wonderful tasting substitutions that appear on my plate to even have time to think about missing pasta.  But the presentation this entree gives you may fill a void you are noticing on your plate, and it provides a little change from the normal roasted or steamed veggie appearance.  

This recipe was adapted from Paleo Running Momma, and here is what you will need - 

3 medium zucchini, spiralized
1 tsp olive oil
2 medjool dates
4 Tbsp unsweetened creamy almond butter
3 Tbsp coconut aminos
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup toasted chopped almonds
 

You will need to spiralize your zucchini noodles first, allowing them to "sweat" for at least 30 minutes.  Place them in a colander with a drip pan positioned below, sprinkle with salt and toss lightly, then let them "sweat".  When you are ready to work with the zucchini noodles, wrap them with paper towels and continue to remove any excess water.  This step is worth the time!  Confession - the first time I worked with zucchini noodles I got in a hurry and skipped this step, it can't be that important right? Soggy noodles were the result, so yes, please allow time for your spiralized zucchini to sweat it out.  

Place the medjool dates in a cup of hot water for a few minutes to soften them.  Add the following ingredients to a food processor to blend - medjool dates, almond butter, and coconut aminos.  Blend until smooth and then add the ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and vinegar.  My first attempt at this sauce I used a Vitamix to blend it all together, of course that's the best machine right?  This was not successful as the amount of ingredients didn't cover the blade enough to be effective and some of the items stayed stuck below the blades.  So back to my little kitchen food processor, adding a pulse here and there, stopping to scrape a time or two, and all was well and pureed.  

With the almond butter sauce on standby and your zucchini noodles sweated out of extra moisture, heat olive oil in large saucepan to medium high.  Add the zucchini noodles and stir fry for 2 minutes.  Remove from the pan and toss with the almond butter sauce, then top with the green onions and toasted almonds.  

I served this with a very simple entree,  Marinated Shrimp Skewers, and it was the perfect match. 

Enjoy!!