Zucchini Pomodoro
Recipe Key
Do you need a quick, easy and healthy recipe that tastes great? If so, Zucchini Pomodoro is the perfect summer recipe for you. Garden fresh tomatoes are blended into a tasty, raw tomato sauce and served with spiralized zucchini “noodles.”
This is an easy dish with lots of nutrition I adapted from Food Matters.
I originally made this dish for the Summer Nourishing Foods Cleanse but it’s so easy and delicious I’ve made it over and over all summer long. It’s gotten great reviews from my weekend guests. Since we live at the beach we have many wonderful visitors all season. It’s great fun.
Zucchini is a versatile and abundant vegetable. You may even have it growing in your garden. Spiralize it or julienne the zucchini. If you don’t have a spiralizer, I recommend getting one. It’s one of those kitchen tools you’ll use again and again.
You have the option of keeping the zucchinis raw or lightly sautéing them. I prefer them cooked a little but either way, it’s delicious.
A note about cooking spiralized zucchini: If your zucchinis are large they will release quite a bit of water when sautéed. To get rid of the excess water: Layer the zucchini into a mixing bowl, salting each layer lightly. Let stand for 20 minutes. Drain the zucchini in a colander, squeezing in a kitchen towel to remove as much liquid as possible. Proceed to sauté them.
Health Benefits of Zucchini Pomodoro
Zucchinis are full of carotenoids that promote healthy eyesight. They have good amounts of potassium and magnesium that helps keep your blood pressure normal. Also high in folate which breaks down amino acids such as homocysteine helping to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
Tomatoes contain a very special nutrient called lycopene. It’s the substance that makes them red and protects them from the sun’s UV rays. It does the same in our bodies, like a natural sunscreen. Lycopene is also an antioxidant that decreases cancer and heart-disease risk. Raw tomatoes have a higher amount lycopene and vitamin C than cooked tomatoes. The sun dried tomatoes thicken the sauce and give it body, preventing it from being watery.
Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil blended into sauce gives it a silky texture and rich Mediterranean flavor. Olive Oil is very high in natural Vitamin E. This nutrient helps us to age gracefully. It has strong anti-inflammatory properties soothing the digestive tract and repairing connective tissues. It also helps prevent wrinkles.
This recipe can be made in 20 minutes. The sauce keeps well in the refrigerator for 5 days but you’ll probably eat it before then. It’s a nice sauce for fish and chicken too!
“It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.” – Lewis Grizzard
You may also like these other zucchini recipes:
- Paleo Zucchini Basil Fritters
- 5 Minute Zucchini Noodles with Garlic and Basil
- 3 Ingredient Grilled Zucchini
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PrintZucchini Pomodoro
A quick, easy and healthy recipe made with garden fresh tomatoes blended into a tasty, raw tomato sauce and served with spiralized zucchini “noodles.”
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 3
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Paleo, Raw, Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Seasonal
- Cuisine: Healthy Mediterranean
Ingredients
- 8 sun dried tomatoes, soaked
- 6–8 small zucchinis
- 3 cups fresh plum or Roma tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cup extra virgin cold pressed olive oil plus 1 tablespoon for sautéing
- 2 small cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar or 1 date
- ½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 tablespoons fresh basil, or parsley chopped
Instructions
- Boil water in a small pot. Turn off the heat and add the sundried tomatoes. Let sit while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Create the zucchini noodles with a spirilizer or julienne tool, and place in a large serving bowl.*
- Drain and dry the sundried tomatoes.
- For the sauce, place tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, ½ cup olive oil, garlic, coconut sugar, salt, cayenne in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add zucchini “noodles”.
- Sauté 2-3 minutes until zucchini has lost its rawness. Alternately leave the zucchini raw.
- To serve, place the sauce over the zucchini “noodles”.
- Top with fresh basil.
Notes
If your zucchinis are large they will release quite a bit of water when sautéed. To get rid of the excess water: Layer the zucchini into a mixing bowl, salting each layer lightly. Let stand for 20 minutes. Drain the zucchini in a colander, squeezing tightly to remove as much liquid as possible. Proceed to sauté them.