Zucchini Noodles with Pesto

Why This Zucchini Noodles with Pesto Works

During this recipe, the pesto clings to the zucchini because of how the oil and cheese coat everything. As the basil, Parmesan, pine nuts, and garlic are chopped very small, they stop being separate pieces and start acting like one thick paste. Once the olive oil is streamed in, that paste loosens just enough to slide around the zucchini noodles but still stays thick enough to stick to them instead of running off to the bottom of the bowl.

When the pesto is tossed with the raw zucchini, the salt and lemon juice start to pull a little water out of the zucchini. The noodles soften slightly but don’t go mushy, so they still feel like a light pasta. At the same time, the oil and cheese spread over every strand, so each bite tastes the same from start to finish. Chilling the dish lets the pesto firm up a bit on the noodles, so the coating stays in place and the texture feels cool and crisp.

Mistakes To Avoid

Letting the zucchini noodles sit too long after spiralizing can make them leak a lot of water. Once the pesto goes on, the extra liquid thins it out and the bowl fills with watery sauce, so the noodles taste bland and soggy instead of coated and silky.

Using a hot pan to “warm” the zucchini noodles turns them limp very fast. The heat pulls out moisture and softens the strands, so instead of a light, slightly crunchy noodle, the result is a pile of wilted, almost mushy zucchini.

Overprocessing the pesto until it gets hot in the food processor can change its texture. The basil darkens and the cheese softens too much, so the pesto turns pasty and heavy instead of loose and creamy.

Skipping the salt in the pesto and only adding it at the end often leaves the dish tasting flat and uneven. The salt doesn’t spread properly through the thick sauce, so some bites are dull while others are sharply salty.