Zucchini Noodles with Paprika Shrimp

I’m back! Apologies for the little hiatus, summer has definitely kept us busy! Speaking of summer, isn’t produce the absolute best at this time of year? AJ and I bought our house earlier this year and unfortunately, planting a vegetable garden didn’t make it to this year’s to-do list. The other day, one of my husband’s coworkers brought in homegrown zucchini and we were lucky enough to snag one. Now, usually my instinct would be to bake a zucchini bread, but my vegetable spiralizer was calling my name!  The result was this incredible dinner of zucchini noodles (“zoodles”) & garlicky paprika shrimp. 

Zoodles and Paprika Shrimp

• 1.5lbs shrimp (deveined and cleaned)
• 2 large zucchini
• 1.5 tbs olive oil
• 3-4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 or 2 tsp Paprika, salt, & pepper to taste
• 12 cherry tomatoes

1. The first thing you’re going to want to do is make your zoodles. You can do this with a spiralizer, a veggie peeler or just purchasing them from your local grocery store. My girlfriend Amanda (you know, my granola bar inspiring friend!) got us a spiralizer for Christmas a few years ago – this is the one I use (Paderno Spiralizer). Once you have your zoodles cut, place in a colander and sprinkle lightly with salt to start sweating them out. We want to get out as much moisture as we can so they don’t go all soggy when we cook them. 

2. While the zucchini is sweating, start getting the shrimp ready. Depending on how you purchase your shrimp this could mean cleaning them or simply opening the frozen bag. I personally always prefer to buy fresh shrimp and clean them. It only takes a few minutes to pop off the shells and the taste and texture is unmatched. Pat the shrimp dry and set aside. 

3. Once the zoodles have been sweating for about 15 minutes, remove them from the bowl and place onto a paper towel or clean dish cloth. Gather it into a bundle and twist and squeeze, trying to get out as much water as you can. These are now ready to cook!

4. Add the ½ tablespoon of olive oil to your sautee pan over a high heat. Add your zoodles and cook until they are soft – about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to your serving dish or plates. 

5. Using the same pan, add the remaining 1 tbs olive oil. Once your oil is hot, add the minced garlic and cook for about 1-2 minutes until garlic starts to go soft and brown. Add shrimp to the pan and generous season with paprika, salt and pepper. Stirring the shrimp occasionally, cook until they are no longer translucent and have a soft pink color. Transfer the shrimp out of the pan to join the zoodles!

6. Finally, using your empty and still hot pan – add the 12 cherry tomatoes. You are going to want to poke each tomato with a fork first so that it doesn’t burst when you cook it. Cook these until they’ve started to go soft and wrinkly – about 4-5 minutes. Top the zoodles and shrimp with the roasted tomatoes. A sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top is also never a bad idea! 

I will need to make this again to take a completed photo! AJ and I devoured this before I got one! It's THAT good!