I love Meatless Monday. It warms my heart when I see omnivores trying out vegetarian diets week-after-week. I love to point out: “See it’s possible. You don’t have to vegetarian to enjoy vegetarian or vegan food.”
Then there’s those who are trying out mostly vegetarian diets as a New Years resolution, like my husband. I think people who try to “veg” often find foods they love, but find it socially restrictive. Luckily my husband has me. Last night he came home and went scavenging in the fridge. He came out with a tupperware container containing leftovers of the seitan I made for an upcoming recipe.
“Can this be microwaved and eaten as is with a fork and knife?”
“Yeah or you could slice it up and sautee it with some onions and garlic. Or put some BBQ sauce on it.”
[blank stare]
“Yes you can eat it microwaved with a fork and knife.”
I went looking for leftover seitan at noon today and it was nowhere to be found. I’m pretty sure that’s high endorsement from someone who once wouldn’t try new “weird” foods.
But today’s meatless recipe should not be weird to omnivores. It’s quite familiar ground actually. I’m not sure why people actually put meat in their pasta anymore. I find tomato sauce actually hides any flavor from the meat. And there are so many other ways to enjoy pasta than just flavored with tomato sauce.
Today’s dish has a strong taste of lemon and ginger as well as the nutrition of zucchini.
I took picture of the zucchini I used mostly as a size quantifier. I’ve seen zucchini as large as a bodybuilder’s forearm in these parts. And by these parts I mean my next door neighbor’s garden. So I might actually consider this to be a small zucchini, but by grocery store standards it’s actually probably medium.
Not that the size of the zucchini actually matters. This recipe is not dependent on exactly how much zucchini ends up in your pan. In fact, a higher zucchini to pasta ratio is probably better for you.
The best part of this kind of dish is that it is quick to throw together. Saute your vegetables while the pasta cooks and whisk the ginger olive oil and lemon juice together before you toss everything together,
You could toss some parmesan on the dish, but why would you need to?
Lemon Ginger Zucchini Pasta
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Keywords: saute pot entree vegan vegetarian zucchini pasta ginger
Ingredients (Serves 3-4)
- 1 whole medium zucchini sliced and cut in half
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- olive oil
- 2 tablespoons ginger shredded
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 cups cooked pasta of choice
Instructions
Prepare pasta
While pasta cooks, saute onion and garlic for a few minutes. Add zucchini.
Mix ginger, olive oil and lemon juice in a small bowl.
Once zucchini is tender crisp, toss pasta, saute mixture and dressing together.
Want other great Meatless Monday inspirations? (or full time vegan vegetarian recipes too), check out Vegan Mother Hubbard’s Meatless Monday linkup.
I'm an engineer, an animal lover, a runner and an ex-rower. I like medical devices, big ships and mountains. This is my journey teaching myself to make healthy foods and explore the world of vegan and vegetarian cuisine.
Oh my – I love lemon pasta! I am making this one next week.
Love the ginger flavour in there. This looks so delicious!