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On Tuesdays I work at coffee shops with a couple girlfriends who also call their homes their workplaces. It’s a good chance to knock social activity and work hours out together (she says, like a true introvert) and one that gives all of us an excuse to spend $5 at a local business as well as put on normal clothes before noon (okay, that last part might just be me).
This past week, we also met up on Thursday, and when we did it was at the new coffee shop in my neighborhood, which is also the first coffee shop in my neighborhood, a news-worthy event for South Nashville if ever there were one.
Since it opened 1.5 weeks ago, I have already discussed this hip new place and its white string lights and ample seating area with our neighbors down the street at lunch on Memorial Day, my friend Jenna at book club (who, notably, found out about it in the community newsletter I’ve apparently known nothing about) and, also, at a workshop that my friend and former neighbor Ashley led in Hermitage, when the sweet nine-months-pregnant girl sitting next to me said she lived in Woodbine and the coffee shop was the first thing we had to discuss.
I’ve met the owner three times now (although I’m sure he has no idea who I am), including in a long conversation my never-met-a-stranger coffee-shop work buddies and I shared with him and another guy, about Internet and Google Fiber and the fact that this stranger who was eating a scone next to me turns out to live walking distance from my house.
As a girl who grew up in the spread-out Chicago suburbs, I’ve never quite experienced the feel of a neighborhood, the TV kind where you can stop at the Kroger down the block and run into someone you know, but I have to say these last few weeks I’ve rather liked it.
Anyway, sometime after 1 p.m., since Tim had the car, my freelance buddy Carrie gave me a (5-minute) ride home, and then since I had tons of book-club eats leftover in the fridge, she came with me inside, as I checked the mailbox and grabbed packages from the porch and placed field greens on the counter.
The giant box, marked from Amazon, held the spiralizer I’ve been wanting for years, have had pinned in my dream board on Pinterest, have asked for at various holidays and on gift lists.
We love the Paderno World Cuisine 8-Cut Collapsible Spiralizer (via Amazon)
So before either of us even started eating salad, I was breaking open the box and squealing about how much I couldn’t wait to give this thing a go. Most cost way less than $50 but yet it’s always seemed such a splurge: Who really needs a spiralizer?
It just makes stuff look pretty! What’s the big deal?
Today, in the middle of the afternoon, Tim and I broke it in and, let me tell you, I am loooooooving with so many Os inside this unnecessary kitchen gadget. It’s easy to clean, easy to put together and take apart, not that big and, most notably, so incredible at turning something like an oblong zucchini into crazy-long, curly strands of noodly pasta(-esque) fun.
In the 5 to 10 minutes I spent churning out zucchini noodles (“zoodles” they are also called!), Tim and I got talking about inventions like these – Who comes up with them? If I lived a long life, I’d probably never dream up something like this!
Also, why don’t restaurants serve them? Even in all the hippie, fermented, vegetarian, vegan and organic restaurants we’ve searched out in the last few years, we can’t remember ever seeing zucchini noodles on a menu. Have you? We’ve seen other variations, like zucchini ribbons, but we’re waiting for the zoodle revolution!
Fittingly, we bought it right around the time that we have been cooking from Golubka’s Anya Kassoff’s new book, The Vibrant Table, which has a marvelous recipe for zucchini spaghetti with peaches and pumpkin seed pesto mixed throughout.
The Vibrant Table: Recipes from My Always Vegetarian, Mostly Vegan, and Sometimes Raw Kitchen
I’ve known Anya in the blog world for a few years now, and I like her for two reasons: she is always kind, surprisingly kind in fact, and also she has a rational, balanced philosophy on food. If you get her book, read the first few pages of introduction, and you’ll see what I mean.
It’s always vegetarian, mostly vegan and sometimes raw (and I would add stunningly beautiful to flip through) and photographed by her daughter Masha Davydova, of Golubka.
We subbed in the peaches for what was originally nectarines but kept most everything else the same, and, boy, what a perfect, light, refreshing lunch to eat on a 90-degree day in Nashville!
Tim and I heaped big piles on our plates, touched them up with salt and pepper, and sat side by side on our sofa, as unsure as ever about what the future holds for us, home-wise, but currently, thankfully, surrounded by a neighborhood we’ve grown to love.
Print
Zucchini Spaghetti with Peaches and Pumpkin Seed Pesto
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
Are you looking for a healthy spiralizer recipe that’s quick and easy to make? Try this vegan Zucchini Spaghetti with Peaches and Pumpkin Seed Pesto. Low in calories and high in nutrients and taste.
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Seed Pesto:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup (160 g) raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 garlic clove, minced
For the Zucchini Spaghetti Noodles (or, Zoodles!):
- 2 small to medium zucchinis (about 1 1/2 pounds or 680 g)
- 2 ripe organic peaches (if not organic, peel skin), pitted and sliced
- Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a baking dish, combine melted coconut oil with pumpkin seeds and salt. Toast for 10 minutes, or until seeds are puffed up and golden. Let cool slightly.
- In a food processor, grind pumpkin seeds until they’re what Anya calls the size of small breadcrumbs. Then add olive oil, basil, water, lemon juice and garlic. Blend until mixture is like a smooth paste. If you want it a little thinner, add more oil or lemon juice.
- To make the zucchini noodles, use a spiral slicer to create about 5 cups of raw noodles from 2 zucchini.
- Toss your zucchini noodles with about 5 tablespoons of the pesto (extra can be refrigerated for up to 3 days) in a large bowl. Add peach slices, and garnish with basil and small dollops of extra pesto, if desired. We also added salt and black pepper to taste.
Notes
Adapted from The Vibrant Table cookbook.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: vegetable noodles
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: dinner
Keywords: vegan, zoodles, zucchini noodles, vegetable pasta, pesto
Did you make this zucchini spaghetti and love it like we did? Let us know in the comments below and please rate the recipe!
Looking for more tasty spiralized recipes? These are some of our favorites:
- Fresh Zucchini Pasta with Tomatoes and Homemade Pesto
- Bright Kale and Grapefruit Salad with Spiralized Apple and Red Onion
- Spicy Spiralized Kohlrabi Slaw
Photos by Shanna Mallon, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details.See our TOS for more details. Originally published on May 31st, 2014. Last updated: May 20, 2021 at 16:47 pm.
Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
About Shanna Mallon
Shanna Mallon is a freelance writer who holds an MA in writing from DePaul University. Her work has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including The Kitchn, Better Homes & Gardens, Taste of Home, Houzz.com, Foodista, Entrepreneur, and Ragan PR. In 2014, she co-authored The Einkorn Cookbook with her husband, Tim. Today, you can find her digging into food topics and celebrating the everyday grace of eating on her blog, Go Eat Your Bread with Joy. Shanna lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with Tim and their two small kids.
i love that idea of working at a coffee shop with other work-from-home people! that sounds so fun!!!! now i want to hunt some others down and start a club… isn’t the vibrant table amazing?!?!? i am making the chickpea crepes tonight 🙂
Molly! I think we should swap lives for a day because you make me crush on farm living so major. And yes! Vibrant Table = gorgeous, awesome, inspiring, LOVE IT.
That pesto sounds amazing! So unique and fresh. I love zucchini noodles, I bet it would pair wonderfully with this sauce. 🙂
Baby June, I think it was my first pesto without cheese! Surprisingly still so good!
i am so excited for summer squash! i echo your wish of inventing some amazing tool like the spiralizer. this books looks to be beautiful. i definitely need it, especially so i can make this recipe!
Also worth saying: the entire book is gluten-free! Your comment made me think of it. You would love it!
This is so beautiful, Shanna! Vibrant indeed, and so healthy/summery. Yum.
Thanks so much, Alanna! I’m so glad I found your site yesterday — full of inspiration!
Working with friends is so fun! When I have to take grading home on the weekends, it simply doesn’t get done unless I have someone to do it with. 🙂 And this is so gorgeous! Love the colors and flavors!
Aw, that reminds me of my good friend who’s a fourth-grade teacher and how we used to watch chick flicks on Friday nights while she’d grade. : )
This sounds amazing! I can’t wait till we have peaches here in England!
Thanks, Rosie! You could also swap in any stone fruit, should others come sooner (revealing how little I know about British growing seasons here)…
Thank you so much for this beautiful post, Shanna! I’m so glad you enjoyed the dish. Such beautiful photos and words, as always 🙂
Anya! Thank you! For your years of kindness and for your beautiful book. We are so proud of you!
Every time I’m on Amazon I stare at the spiralizer (and that is no exaggeration). I need to just add it to the order next time- I’m tired of this julienne peeler non-sense. And these photos, you guys, these photos. (and of course the book- I’ve looked over every recipe and love it!)
Erin. You’ve got to. It’s so much fun! I wish I hadn’t waited so long! also ps YOUR book. Girl. You killed it.
My mom recently got a spiralizer and she LOVES it. I’ll have to pass this one along to her. 🙂
Your mom knows what’s up!
Beautiful post. (And the cookbook looks wonderful.) I love what you said about getting used to the feel of a small neighborhood–I grew up in suburbs outside Cleveland, which very much felt sprawling and distant. Now that we live in Providence, we see practically everyone we know on a weekly basis while out on walks or errands. Plus, everyone in RI seems to know everyone else…it feels very small and close-knit.
Abby! Providence has always been on my list of cities to visit, but I think you just bumped it higher. Sounds dreamy.
A spiralizer has always been on my wish list as well, and this recipe has me pining for one now more than ever. Sounds so perfect for our hot humid days in Texas!
I’m going to be a total spiralizer pusher to anyone who lets me. BUY ONE BUY ONE! You will love it!
This looks delicious and uh-oh, now I’m going to have to add spiralizer to my wish list of kitchen gadgets. I try really hard to have a minimum number of tools that each have more than one use but zucchini noodles look like so much fun that I just may have to break my own rule! Hate when that happens. LOL!
Lisa! It’s amazing. I feel totally the same way, trust me, and we have limited storage space with all the gadgets I keep acquiring (why did I want a rice cooker?) but the spiralizer is special. Get one!
I love your whole website. Everything about it is just what I love! Just when I became interested in going wheat free my manager at work told me about you when I was always telling her about my new discoveries!
Aw, thanks, Abby! Tell your manager thanks for us and hope you keep enjoying it here. : )