Unless you’re living under a rock you’ve probably noticed the “spiralizing” trend in which various vegetables are put through some kind of contraption that shapes them in to long thin strands and then they’re served like noodles or pasta.

I’m not usually one for trendy kitchen gadgets, but this one intrigued me. For years I’ve been shaving off thin layers of zucchini with a vegetable peeler, boiling the shavings and using them in my Summer “Pasta” recipe. Could a spiralizer make that dish, already one of my favorites, even better? I also wondered at the possibility of spiralizing other veggies like carrots and sweet potatoes. So, on a recent trip to Bed Bath & Beyond I plunked down $14.99 and left with this baby.

A couple of weeks ago I was making a simple light dinner of some grilled ocean trout and needed a side dish. This seemed like the perfect time to try my spiralizer out. I’d just picked up some green and yellow zucchini at the farmers market too, so I’d be starting my spiralizing with zoodles (zucchini noodles + zoodles, get it?).

After a quick internet search I prepared the zoodles as follows. After spiralizing my zucchinis I put the zoodles in to a colander and tossed them with a whole bunch of salt and left the whole thing over a bowl for 30 minutes while the water drained out. After 30 minutes I rinsed the zoodles to get rid of the salt, patted them dry and then threw them in a bowl and into the fridge to dry out some more. A couple of hours later I heated up some olive oil and sauteed my zoodles for 3-4 minutes with some garlic, oregano and mint. The result… Ah-May-Zing.

Draining my zoodles

I love zucchini in all forms, but Chris is usually pretty meh on it. “Delicious!” Chris exclaimed after his first bite and he helped himself to seconds. The zoodles were definitely a success.

Of course that meant that I know had to try out zoodles in my Summer “Pasta” recipe which is exactly what I did last weekend and guess what? The zoodles really did make one of my all time favorite meals even better!

So here’s what to do to make the original recipe even better:

1. Ignore the part about peeling and boiling the zucchini; instead prepare zoodles as above (spiralize, salt, rinse, refrigerate for a couple of hours or over night).

2. Prepare pancetta, onions, tomato, etc as directed.

3. When the non-zoodle veggies are mostly cooked toss in zoodles and cook for 3-4 minutes to desired doneness.

4. Toss the pancetta back in the pan. Remove from heat stir in mascarpone and basil.

5. Enjoy every amazing bite while thinking of all the other great things you’re going to do with your spiralizer.

Even better than the original!