Antipasto Zoodle Salad
Zucchini "noodles" tossed with fresh vegetables, mozzarella, and Italian dressing for a refreshing and healthy meal.
Zucchini "noodles" tossed with fresh vegetables, mozzarella, and Italian dressing for a refreshing and healthy meal.
- Carbohydrate 6.162042 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.902216 g
- Fiber 1.58054002668858 g
- Protein 1.198848 g
- Saturated Fat 0.127448 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (125g)
- Sodium 67.1484 mg
- Sugar 4.58150197331142 g
- Trans Fat 0.1027432 g
- Calories 33 calories
Step-by-step
- Combine the zucchini, onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, mozzarella and black olives in a large bowl.
- Drizzle the dressing over the top and toss to coat.
- Serve with pepperoncini peppers on the side if desired. Store covered in the fridge until ready to serve.
Traditional pasta antipasto salads rely on semolina strands that absorb heavy oil without breaking down, whereas raw spiralized zucchini behaves entirely differently under moisture. Zucchini consists primarily of water. Salt draws that cellular water outward via osmosis. Salting spiralized zucchini ten minutes before assembly and blotting the strands on paper towels prevents the dressing from turning into a watery puddle at the bottom of the mixing bowl. When substituting vegetables, water content dictates success. Hard vegetables like carrots maintain crunch without weeping, while watery additions like cucumbers require seeding to avoid diluting the fat and acid balance of the Italian dressing. Mozzarella cheese contributes mild dairy fat, but firm provolone or cubed sharp provolone can replace it at a one-to-one ratio if a saltier, sharper profile is desired. Cutting the cheese into uniform half-inch cubes ensures each portion distributes evenly among the thin onion slices and halved cherry tomatoes. Overcomplicating the toss often ruins raw vegetable salads. Violently mixing the bowl breaks the tender zucchini strands into mush and bruises the tomato flesh. Gentle folding preserves texture. Chilling the mixture for longer than thirty minutes causes the tomatoes to release internal acids that soften the mozzarella surface. Consume the salad within two hours of dressing for optimal crunch, or store the undressed vegetables in an airtight container for up to twenty-four hours.
