contents

it’s time to get spiralizing

light bites

salads

mains

sides and extras

sweet treats

index

acknowledgements

How to use this ebook

Select one of the chapters from the main contents list and you will be taken to a list of all the recipes covered in that chapter.

Alternatively, jump to the index to browse recipes by ingredient.

Look out for linked text (which is underlined and/or in a different colour) throughout the ebook that you can select to help you navigate between related recipes.

it’s time to get spiralizing

The benefits of spiralizing

A spiralizer is an affordable, easy-to-use cutting machine with a selection of blades that you can use to create a variety of different noodles and ribbons from vegetables and fruit. It’s the ideal gadget for health-conscious cooks as it can help you to cut back on refined carbohydrates, such as pasta and rice, by replacing them with spiralized fruit and vegetables so that you can enjoy your meals while eating fewer calories. A spiralizer will also encourage you to include more fruit and vegetables in your diet and can be a life-saver for those following special diets, such as low-carb, gluten-free and raw food.

Spiralizing can help you to save time as it’s really quick and easy to prepare fruit and vegetables using a spiralizer. And spiralizing can also reduce cooking times because many of the vegetables and fruit prepared in this way can be eaten raw or just cooked very lightly, which also means that all nutrients are retained.

Choosing a spiralizer

There are many brands on the market, but all essentially work in the same way. The larger horizontal and vertical ones are better for heavier root vegetables and everyday use, but small hand-held ones are ideal if you are cooking for one or for occasional use or for creating garnishes.

Spiralizers usually come with several different blades, each of which creates a different shape. For this book, I used a horizontal spiralizer with three blades, which I have called the 3 mm (⅛ inch) spaghetti blade, the 6 mm (¼ inch) flat noodle blade and the ribbon blade.

How to use a horizontal spiralizer

1  Attach the machine to the worktop using the suction feet or lever.

2  Insert the blade you wish to use into the machine.

3  Prepare the fruit or vegetable according to the recipe: peel it, if required, trim off the ends to make a flat surface and cut in half widthways, if necessary.

4  Attach one end of the prepared fruit or vegetable to the blade and then clamp the other end of the vegetable to the spiky grip on the crank handle.

5  Grasp the side handle for leverage, turn the crank handle and apply a little pressure so that the fruit or vegetable is pressed between the blade and the handle – this will create spirals.

6  Finally, remove the long core and a round disc that remains at the end of the spiralizing process.

Tips for successful spiralizing

•  Choose firm fruit and vegetables without stones, seeds or hollow centres: the only exceptions are butternut squash (just use the non-bulbous end) and green papaya.

•  Vegetables and fruit should not be soft or juicy – pineapples, melons and aubergines will fall apart when you spiralize them.

•  Choose vegetables that are as straight as possible. Occasionally you may have to re-centre the vegetables to avoid half moon shapes.

•  Make sure the ends of fruit and vegetables are as flat as possible by slicing a small piece off either end. Uneven ends can make it difficult to secure the fruit or vegetable to the spiralizer and may cause them dislodge or misalign.

•  If you find that a fruit or vegetable is not spiralizing very well, it may be because there is not a large enough surface area for the spiralizer to grip to. For best results, lengths should be no longer than 12 cm (5 inches) and about 3.5 cm (1½ inches) in diameter. Cut any large vegetables in half widthways.

•  You will be left with a long core and a round disc at the end of the spiralizing process. Save these cores to use when making soups or for snacks.

•  A lot of juice is squeezed out of fruit and vegetables when you spiralize them, especially from courgettes, carrots, cucumber, potatoes, apples and pears. Just pat the spirals dry on kitchen paper before use.

•  Be careful when cleaning your spiralizer as the blades are very sharp. Wash the machine in hot soapy water and use a small kitchen brush or toothbrush to remove stubborn bits of fruit or vegetables from the blades.

Which fruit and vegetables can be spiralized?

I tested many different types of fruit and vegetables while writing and testing the recipes for this book. To save you wasting precious fruit and vegetables, here is a list of the ones that I found to work best.

Apples There’s no need to peel or core apples, just trim the ends and spiralize whole – the core is left behind in the machine. Spiralized apples are perfect for use in salads and savoury dishes as well as desserts. Remember that the spiralized apple will turn brown very quickly so use immediately or dress with lemon juice.

Beetroot There’s no need to peel fresh beetroot, just wash the skin, flatten the ends and spiralize whole. Eat raw in salads or bake into delicious beetroot crisps.

Broccoli Don’t throw away broccoli stems when you cook broccoli – the stems spiralizes really well. For best results, stir-fry or steam the spiralized broccoli stems.

Butternut squash To avoid the seeds, you should only use the non-bulbous end of the squash. Snip any really long strands of spiralized squash into smaller pieces using scissors – this will make the squash easier to eat.

Carrots Choose large carrots for spiralizing. Eat spiralized carrots raw in salads or steam carrot ribbons to create a delicious accompaniment.

Celeriac The best way to prepare this root vegetable is to use a sharp knife to remove the knobbly bits from the celeriac and then peel it, cut it in half widthways and trim to make the ends flat. Spiralized celeriac works well in gratins, soups and remoulade.

Courgettes Forget about regular pasta, spiralized courgettes make perfect ‘courgetti’ (courgette spaghetti). They can be eaten raw or very lightly steamed, boiled or stir-fried.

Cucumbers Once you’ve spiralized the cucumber you just need to pat the spirals or ribbons dry. Cucumbers make beautiful ribbons for use in salads.

Daikon radish or mooli Spiralized daikon radish and mooli make a great alternative to rice noodles.

Green papaya You can find green papaya in Asian supermarkets. Although it is hollow it attaches to the spiralizer well. Perfect eaten raw in salads.

Green plantains Choose plantains that are as straight as possible and remove the tough outer green skin. Spiralized green plantain is delicious in curries.

Jerusalem artichokes Choose large artichokes. There’s no need to peel these knobbly vegetables, all you need to do is wash them. If you’re not using the spiralized artichokes immediately, place them in a bowl of water with a little lemon juice to prevent them discolouring.

Onions Onions can be spiralized whole – all you need to do is trim the ends before you start. You can use spiralized onions to replace chopped ones in recipes or turn them into onion bhajis or crispy onion spirals.

Parsnips Choose large fat parsnips for best results. Add them to a rosti or make parsnip crisps.

Pears Choose firm pears for spiralizing as pears that are too ripe will add too much moisture to some of the dessert recipes. To prepare the pears for spiralizing, just trim down the pointy ends.

Potatoes and sweet potatoes Prepare potatoes by either scrubbing or peeling and then trim the ends and cut in half widthways if very large. Sweet potatoes are great for adding colour to a dish.

Swedes Peel off the outside skin and cut into large chunks with flat ends to attach to the spiralizer. Use in rostis or fritters or mixed with potatoes as a topping.

Cooking and storing spiralized vegetables

Spiralized vegetables can be eaten raw or cooked very quickly. The best cooking methods for spiralized vegetables are steaming, stir-frying and simmering in boiling water. You can also bake and roast spiralized vegetables such as potatoes, parsnips, beetroot and butternut squash in half the time you would cook large chunks of the same vegetables. It is very easy to overcook vegetable ‘spaghetti’, so keep a close eye on it while cooking to make sure it doesn’t fall apart.

Most spiralized vegetables can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, so you can prepare your vegetables in advance or spiralize extra and save the rest for another day. The exceptions are spiralized cucumber, which will only keep for about 2 days because of its high water content, and apples, pears and potatoes, which quickly oxidize and turn brown and so are best prepared as needed.