When we have our precious couple of months of beautiful Canadian summer, spending hours inside cooking isn’t the most appealing thing. And if the sun is blazing, a fresh and light meal is always welcome.
Thus, zucchini noodles, or “zoodles,” can be incredibly welcome during the summertime. They take virtually no time to make and are totally refreshing. All you need is a spiralizer. I use this one, but there are a million different options that seem to do the trick.
This recipe is inspired by my trip to the Greek islands a bunch of years ago. Full of quaint fishing villages, fresh produce and tiny family restaurants, I absolutely adored my culinary experience there. Everything I enjoyed was perfect for the warm beachy weather and breezy nights on the islands. Flavours of olive oil, oregano and lemon accompanied tomatoes, onions, eggplant, zucchini and, of course, fresh fish were plentiful.
In this instance, I kept things fresh, but swapped in a super-quick canned alternative for the fish. I fully support the choice to go with home-cooked fish instead, but the purpose of this recipe is to be quick and easy. I enjoy eating it both warm off the stove or cold at work the next day. Seriously, I ate this two days after I made it for lunch and it was still delish. It’s versatile and incredibly simple, with plenty of room to play around and add different veggies and herbs.
I pretty much always use sardines in this recipe, but I know not everyone is a huge fan, so I’ve given the alternative of tuna, which I tried this week with similar success. You can choose your favourite canned fish, but I highly recommend you try sardines, and this is a really easy way to enjoy them, since they’re paired with the acidity of the tomatoes and lemon juice, plus plenty of olive oil. Sardines have high levels of nutrients that most of us lack, like omega-3, selenium and Vitamin D. They’re also sustainable, cheap and low in mercury. Need more convincing? This article does it for me.
When a quick lunch is in order (or bring it on a picnic), get spiralizing and get back outside.
Happy summer, my dears!
15-minute Greek zucchini noodles
Prep Time 8 mins
Cook Time 7 mins
Course: Main Course
Keyword: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, keto, nut-free, omega-3, paleo, sardines, spiralizer, whole 30, zoodles, zucchini noodles
Servings: 2
Ingredients
2 tins sardines or 1 can tuna
2 medium-large zucchinis spiralized into noodles
2 roma tomatoes seeded and diced
¼ large red onion diced
3 Tb extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
Pinch chili flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh oregano for garnish
Juice of half a lemon
Instructions
Warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add in the onion, oregano and chili flakes, plus some salt and pepper, and sautée about 2 minutes, until softened.
Add the tomatoes and a little more salt and sautée for an additional 2 minutes.
Add the zucchini noodles and toss for a minute, until combined and warm.
Remove from heat, add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a healthy sprinkle of salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
Top with the sardines or tuna.
Garnish with fresh oregano and lemon juice. Feel free to drizzle a little more olive oil if necessary.
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