3-Ingredient Potato-less Mashed Potatoes

Crusty French bread. Pasta. Mashed potatoes. When it comes to vices, mine aren't shoes or nightly Sex and the City marathons (okay, maybe the latter...) but carbs. Oh man. Sign me up! For me, there's no such thing as plate loaded too high with flaky, bready, potato-y, pasta-y goodness. Unfortunately, my snug jeans beg to differ. Luckily, these silky, creamy, rich "mashed no-potatoes"(or "potato-less mashed potatoes" as my body building boyfriend cleverly quipped) replicate that comfort food fix you crave, sans calories and the unhealthy fat you load in from butter, milk and cream.

So what's the secret swap for those formidable balls-o-carbs? Zucchini! Just boil the heck out of it, take your fork and mash, mash, mash away. It's texturally-perfect, nutrionally-abundant and shockingly addictive.

3-Ingredient Potato-less Mashed Potatoes
Serves 1 (adjust proportions as needed based on how much you're making)
1 zucchini
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
flaky sea salt, to taste
Optional: freshly ground black pepper, red chile pepper flakes

1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel a few spirals from the zucchini. Meanwhile, heat a pot of water to boil.

2. Place the rest of the zucchini in the boiling in water. Boil until impossibly soft (You can check by piercing it with a fork or knife).

3.  Using a fork (or potato masher if you are feeling fancy), mash the zucchini and add the olive oil. Season to taste and top with the raw zucchini shreds. Rejoice in a guilt-free spoonful of comfort.

(flowers also courtesy of aforementioned body building boyfriend)

The Easiest End of Summer Vegan Dinner Ever

Having recently read Mark Bittman's "Zuke Alors!" piece in the New York Times Magazine, I was inspired to use this great veggie for a dinner. Hardly meriting a recipe, I simply used a vegetable peeler to make silky, slightly curly ribbons. I combined the zucchini with other veggies I had on hand (half an avocado, an orange bell pepper, cherry tomatoes) and gave the mixture a generous squeeze of several lemon wedges, a bit too heavy a drenching of extra virgin olive oil, some sea salt and black pepper and folded it all into Romaine lettuce leaves. Done! Sweet alors!

 

As for the not-so-pretty concoction on the side? Total snap too: Sauteed eggplant, mushrooms, some of those leftover tomatoes in some extra virgin olive oil and served it with sublimely crusty, fresh-from-the-oven (well, Whole Foods' oven down the street from home...) sourdough. Sometimes the best Sunday night dinners are the no-effort ones.

P.S. A special thanks to my dear friend Lily who inspired this idea, by illuminating the simple beauty of a Romaine lettuce leaf as a vestibule for any matter of deliciousness.