Gluten Free Julienned Zucchini with Lemon Pesto Recipe

Years ago I bought a plastic Japanese Mandoline. You know the one you see on late night infomercials? The kind you can have for two easy payments of $9.99 BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! You also get a vegetable garnishing set, a citrus juicer, a nut chopper, a set of ever-sharp steak knives and if you call in the next three and a half seconds, a Honda Civic.

I got a lot of use out of the little sucker. I sliced potatoes to au gratin, I shredded cabbage for coleslaw and I even crinkle cut carrots hoping the cool shape would entice my kids to eat them. I used it so much I finally broke it.

My husband, being the sweetheart he is, replaced my cheapo Japanese Mandoline with a super professional steel French one from an expensive gourmet shop that was more in the range of one un-easy payment of $199.99. That was about five years ago and I had never even taken it out of the box! My normal method of justification for expensive items is to amortize the cost out by number of times used. (This works very well for shoes!) So obviously, I had to start using it.

After I got it out and tried to read the pigeon English directions for assembly I went about setting it up. By the time I started frantically hunting for a sledge hammer and screwdriver (not required) I was almost ready to give it up. But then in one last attempt the thing went together beautifully (with a slight bit of coaxing from a butter knife) and I went about slicing, shredding and julienning everything in sight. Thus julienned zucchini with lemon pesto was born. If you don’t have a mandolin you can julienne the zucchini with a knife or easier yet just grate them using the large holes on a box grater. The brightness of the lemon pesto really enhances the zucchini. By the way, the lemon pesto is great on gluten-free pasta as well as shrimp.

The trick here is to cook the zucchini quickly over high heat; this keeps it from getting mushy. Make the lemon pesto first so you can toss it in the pan with the zucchini for the last few seconds of cooking.

I won’t insult you by calling this zucchini pasta because as we all know pasta is pasta and zucchini is … well, zucchini.

4 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Gluten Free Julienned Zucchini with Lemon Pesto Recipe

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time1 min

Total Time6 mins

Course: Appetizer

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 192kcal

Author: Gluten Free & More

Ingredients

Julienned Zucchini

• ▢ 8 zucchini, julienned or grated
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ Lemon Pesto
• ▢ Additional lemon zest for garnish, optional
• ▢ Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish, optional

Lemon Pesto

• ▢ Juice and zest of 2 lemons, I use a microplane for zesting
• ▢ 1 bunch basil leaves, about ½ cup or one large handful
• ▢ 5 cloves of garlic, smashed and peels removed
• ▢ 3 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted in a dry pan
• ▢ ¼ cup olive oil
• ▢ Pinch kosher salt
• ▢ Pinch freshly ground black pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Julienned Zucchini

• ▢
  Dry the zucchini on paper towels after julienning or grating.
• ▢
  Heat a large sauté pan over high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat until hot but not smoking. Add the zucchini and sauté quickly, about 1 minute. You want the zucchini to be warmed through but still a little crunchy. Add the lemon pesto and heat for about another 15 or 20 seconds just to warm it through. Garnish with additional lemon zest and/or grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Lemon Pesto

• ▢
  In a small food processor or blender, add all the pesto ingredients and process until well combined.

Notes

Note: you can add grated Parmesan cheese to this pesto is you like, which is really nice when using it for gluten-free pasta. Just work in about 3 tablespoons at the end after all the other ingredients are combined.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Gluten Free Julienned Zucchini with Lemon Pesto Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 192 Calories from Fat 135

% Daily Value*

Fat 15g23%

Saturated Fat 2g10%

Sodium 22mg1%

Potassium 771mg22%

Carbohydrates 12g4%

Fiber 3g12%

Sugar 7g8%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 595IU12%

Vitamin C 66.9mg81%

Calcium 58mg6%

Iron 1.6mg9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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