The Easy Trick For Perfectly Sized Zucchini Noodles Every Time

If you like planting zucchini — or have a friend, neighbor, or family member who does — you know just how much one plant can yield. It'll get to the point where it just seems like there's no end to it, but fortunately, there's also no end to the recipes that this versatile fruit (and yes, it is a fruit!) can be used in. Chocolate zucchini bread is always a favorite, but when the family starts asking for something else, zucchini noodles are a great, fast, and delicious option.

And when we say they're fast, they're fast. Zucchini noodles with fresh tomato sauce is a fresh meal that comes together in just about five minutes, with no cooking required. The most challenging part is making the spiralized zucchini noodles, and thanks to recipe developer Miriam Hahn, you'll learn a nifty trick for making them easier to make and eat. 

In her recipe for Daily Meal's sister site, Tasting Table, Hahn shared her way of spiralizing anything into convenient pieces: Before you start, take your knife and cut a slice halfway into the zucchini lengthwise (see below). That's it! You'll get shorter noodles that are much more manageable, and who would've thought there was such an easy way to make spiralized noodles even better? Hahn stresses that this works for anything that you can spiralize, and it might mean you start breaking the tool out of the drawer more often. 

Wheat pasta is great, but if you're looking to mix things up — and use all that zucchini that your neighbor gave you — turning them into noodles is a great idea. They're perfect in dishes like an Alaskan cod parmesan with zucchini noodles, or, you can opt for something like a zucchini spaghetti with blackened tomatoes. Using Hahn's one-slice trick means that you're going to get manageable, short slices of zucchini noodles, and let's be honest and say that long spaghetti noodles are always a little annoying.

Zucchini has a high water content, and it's easy to end up with soggy noodles. Hahn recommends salting them and letting them sit for around 10 minutes before cooking, and cooking — if you do decide to cook them — is key. If they're over the heat for more than a few minutes, they're going to get soggy. 

Once you cook them, you can also drain them, and even put them on a paper towel to absorb some of the moisture. Also? Consider using ingredients that absorb moisture, like the parmesan in the aforementioned Alaskan cod recipe. Breadcrumbs are another great option, as in Noodles & Company's zoodles and asparagus with lemon cream sauce recipe. If you're using sauce, try reducing it more than you would with pasta noodles. A thicker sauce will absorb the liquid from zucchini, and you'll be on your way to a stellar dish.

Static Media owns and operates Daily Meal and Tasting Table.