Raw Zucchini Pasta with spring veggies and cherry balsamic vinagrette...

This salad is practically GONE by the time I'm beginning to write this, and I feel like I just sat down...it's that good. 


I just wanted to say that this recipe is listed under raw recipes, although it's not 100% raw...but the zucchini pasta is so special, that I thought it deserved to be underneath this neat grouping.  Of course, make it 100& raw by using the veggies as they are, without blanching, omitting the beans, and making sure your dressing ingredients are raw.  It will taste just as good.  

I start out with veggies that I can just toss quickly together, and the ingredients aren't as important as the bast (the zucchini spirals) and the dressing (dressing recipe comes later in another post, so look for it).  Really, anything you like to crunch on and you feel inspired to use would be great here. 

I blanched about 20 (just estimating) green beans and a handful of snow peas (I didn't even bother to trim them at all) and then dunked them to swim in some cold water until I was ready for them.  I then reserved the in the fridge for a future use, and for this recipe, I just took out a handful...the rest is history.

7 or so baby portabella mushrooms, sliced in three

olive oil spray

handful of blanched and cooled green beans and snow peas, cut into thirds

1 zucchini

1/2 cup cannelini beans (canned is fine) 

1 tablespoon cherry balsamic vinagrette (or your own recipe of dressing)

Peel the zucchini, cut both ends off and cut it in half width wise.  Spiral into spaghetti using a spiral cutter (thank you Sabina for my birthday present!).  Put the spirals in a good sized bowl you can eat out of.  Add the green beans and snow peas, cannelini beans, dressing and toss.  Set it aside.


Heat up a spray or two of olive oil in a cast iron skillet and stir the mushrooms a while until they start to soften and get a bit of a fun dark sauteed crust on them.  Yum!  Add them to the salad, toss everything together and voila.