Garden Fresh Vegetables with Spiced Caribbean Shrimp
Baked Zoodles with Caribbean Shrimp: A Tropical Twist on Low-Carb Living. Craving a taste of the tropics while maintaining a healthy diet? Then you have to try Our Baked Zoodles with Caribbean Shrimp recipe!
This low-carb, gluten-free dish (be certain your seasoning satisfy your dietary requirements) is packed tropical spices that will tantalize your taste buds with a burst of the caribbean. Imagine tender zucchini noodles tossed in a spicy tomato based sauce, topped with juicy shrimp seasoned with a blend of Caribbean spices. It’s a healthy and delicious meal that’s perfect for weeknight dinners or impressing family and friends. Who said you have to travel thousands of miles to enjoy the taste of the tropics?
Where did you become inspired to create a tropical healthy dinner?
During a recent visit to Ashville, we became addicted to the powerful flavors in Caribbean cuisine. One evening we visited Nine Mile, a Caribbean and vegetarian inspired restaurant located in West Asheville (we couldn’t get a reservation at the original location). It was an amazing experience, but the sautéed Caribbean shrimp left an indelible mark in our memory bank. Once arriving home we did our best to recreate that flavor, combining Caribbean spices with fresh shrimp and fresh garden vegetables .
This recipe substitutes zoodles for traditional pasta significantly lowering carbs. The dish is light but extremely flavorful layering fresh vegetables with the spiciness of the Caribbean pepper and seasoned shrimp that contrasts with the sweetness of the tomato sauce. We have found zoodles to be a terrific foundation for a delicious, low carb and healthy dinner. We prepared this recipe using zucchini and tomatoes from our backyard garden and locally grown spinach. Spinach not in season? Try using another leafy vegetable that is. Using the freshest ingredients elevates this dish to another level.
How to make Spicy Zoodles and Caribbean Shrimp?
This recipe can be prepared in under an hour. To save time you can purchase pre cut zoodles from your local market. Once the zuchini are zoodled it is importantly to sprinkle them with salt and let them drain. Skip this step and your dish will be a watery mess.
While the zoodles dewater, sprinkle the shrimp with Caribbean seasons. If you are gluten free be sure to scour the ingredients of the seasoning to be certain they meet your dietary needs. Now, sauté the sofrito to make the sauce. Add sauce and simmer. While the sauce is simmering, make the spinach in a hot pan seasoned with olive oil and garlic. Remove when wilted and squeeze out excess water.
Preheat oven to 350F. In an oven safe pan heat olive oil and add the chili peppers. You can adjust the spice to your liking. Then, mix together the zoodles, spinach and tomato sauce and cheese. Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes. After 15 minutes blacken the shrimp in a very hot pan. When done, remove zoodles and top with shrimp and the remainder of the cheese. Bake another 10 minutes and serve hot.
This recipe can also be enjoyed anytime of the year with fantastic results. While this dish may be too spicy for some you can always adjust the level of spice to your liking or simply replace the chili peppers with sweet or less fiery variety. You can also adjust the quantity of cheese to fit your dietary needs.
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Spicy Zoodles with Blackened Shrimp
4
servings30
minutes30
minutesA bold, light and spicy dish with a Caribbean flair.
Ingredients
2 medium zuccchini zoodled
28 oz tomato sauce
1 medium onion chopped
6 cloves 2 garlic cloves minced for sauce and 4 cloves minced for spinach
1 tsp dry basil or 6 fresh basil leaves shredded
10 oz fresh baby spinach or 8 oz frozen
10-15 medium tail-off shrimp, defrosted, peeled and deveined
1-2 Tbs Caribbean heat seasoning (the spice and tea exchange) or other blackening seasoning.
1 chili pepper diced (caribbean pepper, serrano or similar) leave out if you dont like heat
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese divided
Sprinkle of pecorino romano cheese
2 tbs olive oil
Salt, pepper to taste
Directions
- Zoodle the two zucchini. Sprinkle lightly with salt to remove excess liquid. Set aside.
- Sprinkle shrimp with Caribbean seasoning. Place in refrigerator until ready to use.
- For the sauce, pour 1 tbs of olive oil into a medium, non-stick pan on medium heat. Sauté onion and the 2 cloves of garlic until onion becomes translucent and garlic is fragrant. Do not burn. Add 28 oz tomato sauce, basil, salt/pepper to taste. Cover and let simmer.
- While sauce is simmering, rinse spinach. In a large pan, heat 2 tbs of olive oil. Add the 4 cloves of minced garlic and saute until fragrant. Add spinach to pan and mix together with garlic. Add salt/pepper to taste. Cook until spinach is wilted. Remove spinach from pan. Squeeze out excess water.
- In the same pan, heat up a lite coating of olive oil. Add the chili pepper (if using), zoodles and spinach, mix together. Add the sauce, 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and mix until zoodles are coated.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place zoodle mixture in an oven safe pan or medium (2 qt) sized casserole dish. Sprinkle with pecorino romano cheese and bake for 30 minutes. When there is about 15 minutes remaining, we will go ahead and blacken the shrimp. Place shrimp in a very hot, lightly coated non stick pan. Cook for 15-20 seconds, flip shrimp and cook for another 15 seconds. At this point, remove shrimp from pan to avoid shrimp from over-cooking.
- When shrimp are ready, remove zoodles from oven. Add shrimp on top of zoodles and cover with remaining cheese. Place back in oven for another 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Use pre-zoodled zucchini from supermarket to save time.
- Be sure to remove excess water from zucchini and spinach to avoid a watery dish.
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