Zoodles With Raw Tomato & Basil

I first tasted this when I was visiting my sister in Florida and we went to a Williams & Sonoma demonstration.  Every week they give a free demonstration of a specific way of cooking, and that week the theme was "raw".  I had never heard of zucchini noodles (zoodles) before but after tasting them I was hooked. 

This is a really easy dish to prepare.  The most difficult part is making the noodles, and it is very helpful if you have a mandoline with the right settings, a special cutter, or a Spiralizer (both of these links are affiliate links which means your price doesn't change but we receive a small percentage if you order through this link).  Both Rachael and Kayte have the Spiralizer and they love it. (For more information, check out this post.) If you don't want to invest in one until you try the zoodles or don't have room to store it, you might try the special cutter linked above (it also cuts uniformly thin slices if you make your own chips, etc.).  I haven't tried it but I am seriously considering ordering one because I have a very small kitchen without much storage space.

Zoodles With Raw Tomato & Basil 

Based on this recipe from Williams & Sonoma

• 2 lbs of zucchini, yellow squash or cucumbers or a combination of any of them
• 2 lbs of tomatoes, diced
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Make the zoodles, salt them and drain for at least 10 minutes.  This step is very important or you will have a watery mess.  I find it is easiest to put them in a colander to drain and then finish up by running them through a salad spinner.

While the zoodles are draining, chop your tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes because that is what I had on hand), add the basil (fresh basil would have been even better), add the olive oil, salt & pepper and mix well. (If you salted the zoodles, you might want to skip the salt in this step).*

To serve, combine the zoodles and the tomato mixture and top with feta cheese. This makes about 4 servings.

*I made this at Kayte's for their dinner and made the tomato mixture about 2 hours beforehand.  Kayte reported that it was delicious but the tomato mixture was pretty juicy after setting for awhile.  I think this problem can be avoided by preparing right before serving.