Category Archives: Child Category
Courgette noodles and their relatives have a reputation for being watery and disappointing, and that reputation is largely deserved when they are cooked like pasta. Treated correctly they are genuinely good, and the difference is entirely in the handling.
The Water Problem
Courgette is around ninety-five per cent water. Heating it ruptures the cell walls and that water goes into the pan, which is why courgette noodles served with sauce so often end up sitting in a pool.
The solution is to remove moisture before cooking rather than trying to cook it off. Salt the cut noodles, leave them in a colander for twenty to thirty minutes, then squeeze gently in a clean cloth. A surprising quantity of liquid comes out, and what remains behaves far better.
Cutting Them
Long strands can be produced several ways. A julienne blade on a flat mandoline gives short, straight noodles. A turning slicer gives continuous spirals. Both work, and they suit different dishes.
Blade width matters: around three to four millimetres produces something noodle-like, while finer cuts collapse when cooked. Catalogues listing julienne inserts in several widths alongside turning models, such as benriner mandoline ranges, make it possible to match the cut to the dish rather than accepting whatever one blade produces.
Vegetables That Work
- Courgette, the standard choice, best salted and drained first
- Carrot, which holds structure well and needs no draining
- Daikon, crisp and excellent raw in Asian-style salads
- Beetroot, which stains everything but tastes excellent raw
- Cucumber, best raw, and better dressed than cooked
- Sweet potato and butternut, which suit cooking rather than raw use
Cooking Them Properly
The most common mistake is boiling. Vegetable noodles need seconds rather than minutes, and boiling water guarantees collapse.
A hot dry pan for one to two minutes, tossing, is generally enough. They should be warmed through and still have bite. Alternatively, skip cooking entirely and dress them raw, which for courgette and cucumber gives a better result than any cooking method.
Sauces That Suit Them
Thin sauces make the water problem worse. Thicker preparations cling better: pesto, nut-based sauces, tahini dressings, and anything emulsified.
Adding the sauce off the heat and serving immediately prevents further water release. Vegetable noodles do not sit; they should go from pan to plate to table.
Managing Expectations
These are not a pasta substitute in any meaningful culinary sense, and framing them that way sets up disappointment. Pasta is starchy, absorbs sauce and provides substance; courgette does none of those things.
Treated as a vegetable dish in their own right, dressed rather than sauced, and served as a side or a light main, they are excellent. Treated as spaghetti, they will always come second.
