I’ve seen, used and discarded many kitchen gadgets in my life. In my small kitchen, a fine set of knives is all I need. Still, I was fascinated enough by the love fest surrounding the spiralizer, a tool that cuts spirals and spaghetti-like strips from vegetables and firm fruit (apples, pears), that I tried an inexpensive number last year — and swore (mentally) as I cleaned its “teeth” with toothpicks.
But when two cookbooks dedicated to spiralized produce landed on my editor’s desk in the past couple of months (of the more than 24 published in the last year, most touting the health benefits of subbing veggie “noodles” for traditional pasta), I was persuaded (told) to give the gadget another try.
The first step is choosing the right one. Safety is an important feature, writes Leslie Bilderback in “The Spiralized Kitchen: Transform Your Vegetables Into Fresh and Surprising Meals!” (St. Martin’s Griffin, $18.99). Choose a spiralizer with a safety guard, so your fingers don’t touch the cutting edge as you push food through the blade.
Is there a unit on display where you’re shopping? Ask for a short demo, and check the quality of the materials. Are there rubber suction-cup feet to help stabilize the machine? Does the handle turn steadily or does it wobble? And you may not want to go with the cheapest; as Bilderback notes: “Price is a good indication of quality.”
Based on that advice, plus a few online reviews, the Tribune test kitchen now owns a 4-blade Paderno spiralizer, which packs up into itself for a smaller-than-a-shoe-box size.
Both Bilderback and Ali Maffucci, author of “Inspiralized: Turn Vegetables Into Healthy, Creative, Satisfying Meals,” (Clarkson Potter, $19.99) offer produce-prepping tips.
Maffucci condenses much of that into a “best practices for spiralizing fruits and veggies” chart that gives prep suggestions, cooking methods and best blade types (flat for spirals, pierced for noodles).
If a particular vegetable doesn’t spiralize easily, writes Maffucci, it may be “because there is not enough surface area for the spiralizer to grip onto.” Your veggie needs a flat surface at least 11/2 inches in diameter.
So how did our new spiralizer work? Pretty well, once we spent some time assembling, dismantling and reassembling with the instruction booklet close by to help locate “lock” and “unlock” indicators and avoid sharp blades. After a few run-throughs, we no longer needed coaching from the manual. Thankfully, this model does not need a toothpick to clean the blades.
We did have fun cranking out potato and carrot spirals as well as zucchini (noodles of different thicknesses, spirals), with the unit’s suction-cup feet holding tight to the counter. The reason you see so much zucchini spiralized? Its firmness, soft skin, essentially seedless interior and generally straight shape mean there’s no fuss with peeling, trimming or seeding the produce to make it spiralizer-ready.
Do you need a spiralizer to make veggie noodles? No, writes Bilderback, citing a paring knife, vegetable peeler and mandolin as old-school tools that are “perfectly adequate.” Does it make the process a heck of a lot easier? For sure – now if I can just squeeze it into my kitchen.
Roasted potato-pecan salad
Adapted from “The Spiralized Kitchen” by Leslie Bilderback.
Toast: Spread 2 cups pecan pieces on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast in a preheated 375-degree oven until toasty and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Pour off baking sheet; cool.
Roast: Spiralize 2 large russet potatoes and 1 large yellow onion using the straight blade to create flat, spiral ribbons. Toss spirals with 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large bowl. Spread on a baking sheet in an even layer. Roast until golden brown and tender, about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
Dress: Mince 1 clove garlic with 1 teaspoon salt to create a paste; place in a large bowl with ½ cup mayonnaise, zest and juice of 1 lemon, and 1 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence or dried thyme; stir to combine. Add pecans then roasted vegetables. Toss to coat evenly. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Makes 4 large servings.
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