The Spiralizer

0

I was taking a raw food class several years ago and we got to use a wonderful tool called a spiralizer.  There are several varieties and brands available.  But essentially they are like an old-fashioned apple peeler but modified to only peeling varying widths of ribbon of vegetable at a time.  It is an incredibly fun tool because in very short order you get a very long spiral of vegetable ‘pasta’.

 

In order to best use the spiralizer, you do need to have fairly straight vegetables.  But if you are buying vegetables from a store, they tend to be pretty esthetically pleasing – meaning straight.

Depending on what kind of pasta dish I am making, I usually start by peeling the vegetable and save the peel for compost.  I know that a lot of nutrients are in the peel, but the darker color isn’t always so pretty and the peel tends to be a little tougher.

I will cut off one end so that it is flat and then put the vegetable into the claw with the cut end touching the blade.  Then put pressure on the track so that the vegetable stays firmly against the blade while you rotate the handle.

In order to actually use the pasta I usually end up using scissors to cut the pasta into manageable lengths.

Once you have cut the whole vegetable you will end up with a small core which you should cut up and use in whatever sauce you are making or save them for your pet or use them in baking