If you’re like me, zucchini have taken over your life.
Maybe you don’t have a community garden plot with four enormous zucchini plants, blossoms so big you thought they were squash and baseball bat-sized green summer squash hiding under thick green branches and enormous lily pads of leaves.
But probably you’re seeing zucchini popping up everywhere, because when they come into season, they come fast. And you have to pick them before they get unreasonably large and seedy and fibrous. There’s a perfect size when they’re soft enough for zucchini noodles but firm enough to roast. You don’t want to pick them when they’re tiny – what a waste! You waited this long, so you can wait just a few more days until they’ve double in size.
Which is when you realize that there were five others hiding under leaves that whole time and you’ve got a lot of noodles to spiralize.
What else can you do with zucchini? Here are my favourite recipes:
Candy Garlic with Salt-Roasted Zucchini and Confit Onions: THIS IS THE ULTIMATE ZUCCHINI RECIPE. I sometimes quadruple the amount of garlic. Coat the garlic in oil and make sure there’s enough on top during the roasting so that is crisps without burning. There’s no sugar. That’s just how sweet garlic and zucchini are all on their own.
Lemon Risotto with Zucchini and Parsley – the zukes are really the stars here. Sauté them first in oil to give them some char if you want. Don’t skip the anchovies (unless you’re vegetarian) and add sorrel if you want it extra lemony.
Stuffed Zucchini – Currants, pine nuts, mint, nutmeg and rice are stuffed into boats of zucchini.
Raw Zucchini Noodle Pasta with Cilantro Pesto – Sprouts and Carrots take the vegetable count to astronomic levels in this stove-free recipe.
Zucchini Pickles – curry, apple cider vinegar and spices and your zucchini will be ready for a good, long shelf sit.
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