If you’ve been paying attention to my blog and my Instagram account (@elisebgravel) you’ll have noticed by now that I reeaalllyyy like to eat pasta. Like a lot. So, it should come to no surprise that I finally embarked on this whole replace-pasta-with-vegetables trend (and also, well, cause its healthier). I was a bit skeptic at first, but was completely converted after my first bite. Okay, let’s be real, zucchini will never taste like real pasta, nor will it ever fully replace real pasta, but for someone who eats a lot of pasta, its a nice and healthy alternative. Plus, I really like zucchini, so I couldn’t go wrong, right?

So unless you drench your zucchini noodles in a tomato sauce of some kind, obviously, its going to taste like zucchini. As well, the texture is not the same. The zucchini is somewhat “hard” and crunchy, whereas pasta isn’t. But, if you can nail the sauce and add lots of parmesan, you’ll almost feel like you’re eating normal pasta and you can feel good about it too 🙂

Recipe for: 2 people
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: About 15 mins 

• Ingredients:
• 4 zucchinis (and a spiralizer; we got one for $20 from Stokes and it works great)
• extra virgin olive oil
• butter
• 1/2 a small onion, diced
• 2 shallots, sliced thinly
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 14 large shrimps, raw and completely peeled (you can also used cooked shrimp if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 1 teaspoon of hot pepper flakes
• 1/2 a cup of parmigiano reggiano cheese, grated
• a handful of thinly chopped flat parsley
• a few basil leaves, chopped thinly
• ground black pepper
• parmigiano reggiano cheese (topping)
• chopped parsley (topping)
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to make my Zucchini Noodles and Shrimps Recipe:

1. Start by prepping your ingredients! For the zucchinis, use a spiralizer, which will immensely simplify the process (trust me, its worth the $20) and you’ll get beautiful long noodles that look like thick spaghetti. Prep everything else accordingly.
2. Heat a large pan on medium to high heat and add the olive oil and butter. When warm, add the shallots, onion and garlic. Cook until soft.
3. Add in the shrimps and cook until pink and thoroughly cooked. Remove and reserve.
4. Add in the white white to the onion, shallot and garlic mixture and bring the heat up to high. Cook until most of the wine has evaporated.
5. Add in the zucchini, the parmigiano reggiano, the herbs, the ground black pepper and salt and mix well. Cook for a few minutes or until the zucchini has softened but is still firm and crunchy.
6. Serve the pasta in two bowls and add some extra shaven parmigiano reggiano, chopped parsley and ground black pepper. Enjoy!

UP NEXT: my guest review of Pamika (authentic and delicious Thai brasserie in Montreal!)

*All photos are my own