Summer Spaghetti with Zoodles and Crispy Prosciutto Recipe — Registered Dietitian Columbia SC - Rachael Hartley Nutrition (2024)

This summer spaghetti with zoodles is one of my absolute favorite meals for warm summer nights. Now that we’ve got the backyard in order, an 8 year project that apparently needed a global pandemic to complete, we’ve been loving dinner on the back patio with a bottle of crisp wine. Right now, the gardenia and jasmine are in bloom and it legit smells like heaven. A bowl of spaghetti tossed with a garlicky olive oil, burst cherry tomatoes, crispy prosciutto, fresh mozzarella and sauteed zoodles is the perfect complement to al fresco dining.

Now, let’s talk zoodles. Veggies pretending to be other thingshas gotten quite popular as of late, especially zoodles, cauliflower rice, and well, cauliflower everything. Certainly, I've been open tothe trend, and admittedly really like the taste of riced cauliflower (non-diet dietitian #confession). Sometimes these foods can be a fun way to get creative with produce, and experiment with different flavors and textures.

Buuuuut...I feel the need to clarify something.

Cauliflower is not rice. Zucchini is not pasta. Lettuce is not bread. Vegetables are not a substitute for carbohydrates.

While these foods have a non-sinister side, more often than not they’re used as a trendy and socially acceptable way to go low carb.Gone are the Atkins days of a giant hunk of meat and steamed veggies. Now you can have mashed "potatoes," "pizza," "pasta," and (gasp!), even "bread!"

….except it's not potatoes, pizza, pasta or bread. It’s a vegetable.

Zoodles are not pasta. There is an entire country that might kick your a** for claiming it to be so. Zoodles are really yummy briefly sauteed and tossed with actual pasta to add bulk and texture, like I did in this summer spaghetti with zoodles recipe.

Cauliflower is not pizza. I’ve tried cauliflower crust before and it’s not bad. I actually like the taste of it if you’re eating it for what it is - a basic, frozen pizza crust for a quick and easy weeknight pizza. If you’re eating it because you like the taste (it’s pretty nice and crispy vs. the hard but still doughy taste of some pre-cooked frozen pizza crusts) and it’s a convenient dinner, cool. If you’re eating it because you’re afraid of the carbs in regular pizza, you’re going to feel deprived.

Cauliflower is also not rice. As previously mentioned, I actually really like it! Sauteed with garlic, onions and olive oil, it’s really tasty - but as cauliflower. Your body still needs carbs.

Lettuce is not sandwich bread and it's most certainly not crispy crusted French baguette, savory garlic studded ciabatta or sweet and buttery Sally Lunn bread. It does make for a refreshing vehicle for various Asian fillings, as it’s more traditionally used, like warm, soy marinated chicken and veggies or my Vietnamese tofu lettuce wraps. But again, your body still needs carbs, so add some brown rice or rice noodles, and soak up the delicious sauce.

When you enjoy vegetables for what they are and what they bring to a dish, it makes for an enjoyable eating experience. When you punish yourself with vegetables, forcing yourself to eat some weird cauliflower, egg and almond meal bread-like thing instead of actual bread, or sad raw zoodles topped with meat sauce instead of actual noodles, that’s not exactly a joyful eating experience. I hope this recipe for summer spaghetti with zoodles is an example of how vegetables can add versus subtract.

Summer Spaghetti Ingredient Notes and Adaptions:

While I love the taste of whole grain spaghetti in certain pasta dishes, like with rustic pesto sauces, in this summer spaghetti with zoodles recipe, I would use white pasta, as the whole grains would overpower the more delicate olive oil and garlic sauce and lighter summer flavors.

Speaking of the garlic and olive oil sauce, you might be tempted to use less oil - something I used to do when I was trying to cook “healthier,” but I wouldn’t recommend it. Remember, calories (and fat!) are nothing to fear - it’s energy that your body knows what to do with. In this dish the olive oil really adds flavor, and gives the spaghetti a sauciness. You wouldn’t try to coat spaghetti with just a drizzle of tomato sauce, would you? So why would you do that with an olive oil sauce? Plus, the olive oil gets used for crisping the garlic and prosciutto too.

I love the crispy, salty prosciutto in this dish, but you could also make this with bacon. Just don’t use smoked bacon, which will change the profile and overpower some of the more delicate ingredients. Pancetta, an Italian bacon, would work well too.

Another tasty swap you could do in this dish - dollops of burrata instead of fresh mozzarella balls! Burrata is a fresh mozzarella cheese that’s been stuffed with fresh cream. When you cut it open, the creamy inside just oozes out. It’s SO luxurious tasting!

Serves 4ish

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces spaghetti

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 12 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

• 4 ounces prosciutto, torn into smaller pieces

• 1 lb cherry tomatoes, halved if large

• 1 lb zucchini, spiralized

• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

• 8 oz mini fresh mozzarella balls, drained

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti, cook until al dente. Reserve a little of the starchy pasta water (~ 1/2 cup) then drain and set pasta aside until ready to use.

2. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add garlic and cook until just starting to get golden, being careful not to burn or get overly brown, about 2-3 minutes total. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate. Add prosciutto and cook until crispy, about 3-4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to another paper towel lined plate.

3. There should be about 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet. Add more olive oil if not. Increase heat to medium-high, add the tomatoes, zucchini and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is tender and tomatoes are starting to burst and release their juices, about 5-7 minutes.

4. Toss in pasta with the veggies and add just a little starchy pasta water to make a sauce. Stir in garlic, prosciutto and basil. Season with just a little salt and black pepper. Toss in mozzarella and serve immediately.