Spiralizers cut your veggies down to size

If you subscribe to a CSA box, or better yet, have your own vegetable garden, you may be having a hard time keeping up with the bounty of Sonoma County right now.

Are your crisper drawers full of carrots and beets, summer squash and zucchini? Have the vegetables started taking up more real estate in the fridge, crowding out the milk and the cheese? And has the bottom of your crisper drawer turned swampy because you can’t see well enough to clean it out?

If so, it may be time to invest in a spiralizer, which can also cut the carbs and the calories in your diet by allowing you to transform those veggies into yummy “zoodle” dishes, crunchy salads and umami-laden stir-fries.

Everything from broccoli stems and beets to sweet potatoes and zucchini can be spiralized, then blanched, sauteed, roasted or simply eaten raw. The good news is: the harder the vegetable is - believe it or not - the easier it is to cut down to size.

Almost every culture out there has its own version of the table-top spiralizer machine - you can find Italian versions by Paderno, Japanese models by Benriner and American gizmos by OXO Good Grips, among many others.

Most models offer three or four different blades, which create spirals the size of angel hair, spaghetti and fettucini as well as wider ribbon cuts. Those who are afraid of sharp blades - hello, I resemble that remark - may want to buy a model with modular, plastic blade holders that snap in and out easily.

However, it’s a sign of the low-carb, Paleo times, you don’t even need your own spiralizer, since grocery stores have hopped on the bandwagon wagon by offering pre-spiralized and pre-riced veggies.

“The trend has been growing,” said Blue Li, a manager at Sur La Table in Santa Rosa. “Whole Foods has spiralized butternut squash now.”

But of course, if you’ve already got a steady supply of whole veggies, it’s going to be more cost-effective in the long run to plunk down the cash for your own, hand-dandy machine.

If you’re saying to yourself, “Oh no, I don’t have room for another kitchen gadget,” don’t worry. You can simply start out with a small, hand-held spiralizer, such as one made by Gefu, that won’t take up much more room than a pepper grinder.

On the other hand, if you want to make a gazillion zoodles, you can opt to invest in a top-of-the-line, spiralizer attachment for your Kitchenaid mixer, which will last a lifetime and set you back about $100.

“It will take the peel off an apple and slice it,” Li said. “It’s by far the best.”

Still, the tabletop models are a good compromise for cooks on a budget, since they run around $40. a pricetag that is not that much more than the hand-held versions.

Although there are many cookbooks devoted to spiralized vegetables - most notably blogger Ali Maffucci’s best-selling “Inspiralized” and “Inspiralize Everything” - home cooks who are already comfortable in the kitchen can easily adapt recipes they have in their repertoire. Think of your favorite pasta, stir-fry, salad or coleslaw dishes, and then improvise.

Here are 10 reasons to try out a spiralizer this summer, from converts who have found a place in their kitchen for one or more of the handy slicers and dicers alongside their peelers, graters and mandolines.

1. Super simple: Li likes to blanch zucchini noodles in boiling water for a minute, to soften them, then she tops them with cherry tomatoes right off the vine, cut in half, some basil and cheese.

2. Pesto perfect: For something a bit more fancy, Li takes a can of marinated artichokes and adds basil, toasted pine nuts, Parmesan and olive oil, then mixes it all together with baby spinach or arugula, to make an artichoke pesto to put on top of zucchini noodles.

3. Asian inspired: For a quick stir-fry, Li heats up some oil in a wok and sautes some snow peas, thinly sliced carrots and strips of peppers. After they soften, she adds in the zucchini noodles and a splash of tamari or soy sauce, plus a little cornstarch. “Then I throw shrimp in at the end,” she said. “You can cook the shrimp first.”

4. Butter and butternut: After spiralizing some butternut squash, Li likes to roast the squash in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, to soften it, Then she makes a simple brown butter and sage sauce. “I put some butter in a pan, to get it brown,” she explained. “Then I throw in some sage at the end, and I just mix it into the noodles. It’s so simple.”

5. Can’t beet it: Li recently spiralized some beets, then roasted them for 5 to 10 minutes in the oven. For a quick salad, she threw them together with some mint, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and feta.

6. Fresh is best: When it’s too hot to cook, “Veggie Queen” Jill Nussinow of Santa Rosa likes to make a raw tomato sauce, similar to a raw salsa, and use it on top of “zoodles.” “I have been making this sauce for many years when it is just too hot to cook or I want raw food,” she said. “It is reminiscent of salsa, but with an Italian flair.”

7. Pickle it: When she has excess root vegetables, Nussinow uses the thickest spiral cut to slice carrots. daikon and watermelon daikon, kohlrabi, rutabaga, celery root and beets, sometimes adding garlic, leek, onion or hot peppers. “Spiralizing makes the hard winter vegetables ferment more quickly when it is cool out,” she said. “I usually pick a few vegetables and use those together. For instance, Kohlrabi, daikon and beets work well.”

8. Miso hungry: Mei Ibach, a native of Malaysia and chef/instructor at Homeward Bound of Marin, makes a simple Summer Asian Slaw with Sesame Dressing from spiralized carrots, cucumbers and daikon radish. To get rid of excess water, she salts the cucumbers and daikon after they are spiralized, then lets them sit for 10 minutes before squeezing out the water through a strainer or a cheesecloth.

9. Scallop savvy: One of Ibach’s favorite recipes is a simple, Asian treatment of miso-Glazed Scallops. She serves the scallops over spiralized zucchini noodles that have been sauteed with garlic and mushrooms.

10. Fungi fun: Justin Wangler, executive chef of Kendall-Jackson Estates, suggested spiralizing some big, beefy Trumpet Royale mushrooms from Gourmet Mushrooms in Sebastopol, then sauteing them in olive oil and butter and topping them with a tomato sauce made of mushrooms, for double the umami flavor.

The following recipe, courtesy of the USA Pulse and Pulse Canada, is from Dara Michalski of Cookin’ Canuck.

Thai Chickpea Zucchini Noodle Salad

Makes 6 cups

For dressing:

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon fish sauce plus 1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 tablespoons agave nectar

3/4 teaspoon chili garlic sauce

For salad:

1 medium zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 (14-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/4 cup minced cilantro

5 large mint leaves, thinly sliced

5 basil leaves, thinly sliced

For dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, fish sauce, agave nectar and chili garlic sauce

For salad: Cut off ends of zucchin i and yellow squash and cut them in half crosswise. Run the zucchini and squash through the skinniest blade on the spiralizer to produce noodles. Place them into a large bowl.

Add the chickpeas, toasted almonds, cilantro mind and basil to the noodles. Toss with dressing. Serve.

The following recipe is from “The Veggie Queen” Jill Nussinow of Santa Rosa. It’s perfect for a hot night when you don’t want to cook.

Raw Tomato Sauce ?for Zoodles

Makes 4 servings

1 1/2 pounds plum, heirloom or other ripe tomatoes, chopped to equal at least 4 cups

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chopped basil

1 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

2 tablespoons red wine or light-colored balsamic vinegar

1-2 tablespoons chopped Kalamata olives or capers, (optional - omit salt if using)

1/4 teaspoon salt

- Freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, optional

Combine all ingredients except olive oil, and let sit to marinate for at least 10 minutes for the flavors to blend.

If you are using olive oil, drizzle it on the zoodles and then add the tomato sauce. Stir to combine.

The following recipes are from Mei Ibach, chef/instructor at Homeward Bound of Marin.

Miso Glazed Scallops with Mushrooms and Zoodles

Makes 4 servings

For zoodles:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, diced

2 cups mushrooms, such as oyster, sliced

3 cups spiralized zucchini

1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)

- Salt and pepper

For scallops:

8 sea scallops

- Salt and pepper

2 teaspoons white miso

2 tablespoons clarified butter (ghee) or olive oil

1/4 cup white wine

1 teaspoon miso

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon clarified butter

For zoodles: Saute the garlic in the olive oil. Add sliced mushrooms and saute for for five minutes. Add the zucchini noodles and saute for a few minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

For scallops: Take the muscle off the side of the scallops, then lightly salt and pepper.

Rub the scallops gently with the white miso and let rest for 10 minutes. Put 2 tablespoons clarified butter in a saute pan and saute each side, for 2 or 3 minutes each. Remove scallops.

Deglaze pan with the whie wine. Add 1 teaspoon miso to pan and cookdown. Add 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Add 1 tablespoons clarified butter, turn off heat, and let butter melt.

To serve: Dish out zoodles in each bowl. Top with the warm scallops and the pan sauce.

Summer Asian Slaw with Sesame Dressing

Makes 4 servings

1 carrot

1 small daikon radish

2 small Persian cucumbers

For dressing:

1 teaspoon sugar

- Pinch salt

1/2 lime, juiced

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons Mirin (or sugar)

1/2 teaspoon sesame seed oil

1 teaspoon soy sauce

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

- Sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds

Spiralize the carrot, daikon and cucumber. Add salt to the radish and cucumber and let sit for 10 minutes, then drain in a strainer, squeezing out excess water.

Mix the liquid dressing ingredients in a bowl, adding the cut cherry tomatoes. Let sit for 10 minutes to marry flavors. Dress and serve with garnish of toasted sesame seeds on top.

Staff writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @dianepete56.