Well I’ll tell you, gets to be August and that zucchini patch you planted is going great guns and you’ve already eaten so many zucchinis, you hope you’ll never have to eat another one and it seems like that’s all there is on the menu. Or you go to the local farmer’s market and they’re practically giving them away and you’re wondering how you can get the family to eat yet another zucchini, you’re plum out of ideas.
You know it’s summer when that happens, and there are so many great ways to fix them but we get stuck. Below is a good list to help you get unstuck, see if any of these are recipes you haven’t tried before. The zucchini blossom is great to eat too, so add those to any of these dishes for a nice splash of orange.
The zucchini plant bears both male and female flowers. The male flower has a stem and the female flower grows a zucchini where the stem should be. You only need one male flower for every two plants to pollinate the female blossoms, so the males get fried and eaten. In Italy they will frequently leave the flower on the zucchini so you can see how fresh the vegetable is, as in the picture above. Pick the flowers first thing in the morning when they’re open so they’re easier to clean. Don’t wash them, just brush the dirt and ants off and add them to any of the following recipes!
Zucchini pancakes: grate the zucchini, mix it with chopped scallions, egg, parmigiano, basil, parsley and a little flour, drop them into patties in hot olive oil and fry till browned.
Zucchini pasta sauce: chop or slice zucchini, sauté with onion and garlic in olive oil, add fresh chopped basil and parsley and toss with the pasta of your choice. Top with parmigiano
Zucchini frittata: make the above sauce but instead of tossing it with pasta, cool it down and mix in some eggs, about 7 or 8, and parmigiano, then heat some butter and oil in a non-stick pan, put the mix in the pan and cook it till it’s browned on the bottom. Flip it by upending it on a flat pan lid, slide it back into the pan and brown the other side. Or you can put it under the broiler! (chicken)
Zucchini torta salata: follow the directions above but instead of frying it omelet style, put the mix in a pie crust and bake it like a quiche.
Zucchini risotto: same thing as for pasta sauce but follow a basic recipe for making risotto. Or cook up long grain or basmati rice, or quinoa, and toss it with the sautéed zucchini.
Zucchini ripieno, or stuffed: scoop out the inside of the zucchini, mix it with onion, ground beef or lamb, fresh bread crumbs, garlic, tomatoes or tomato sauce, oregano, basil, mint, parsley, and parmigiano and stuff the zucchini shells. Put them in a baking dish, drizzle well with olive oil and bake till nice and golden brown.
Giambotta, or ratattouille: Saute them in lots of good olive oil with onion, garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, basil and parsley. Serve it with Italian sausages and baguettes spread with herbed butter.
Roasted summer vegetables: mix zucchini with eggplant, onion, bell pepper and tomatoes on a large sheet pan and roast them at 400-450, dry with nothing on them, stirring once or twice. When they’re nice and cooked take them out and toss them with salt, olive oil and chopped fresh herbs like basil, parsley, mint, tarragon and chives.
Fried zucchini: make a light batter of flour, salt and white wine, whisking the wine into the flour until you get a thin pancake batter. Slice the zucchini, put it in the batter and fry in really hot peanut oil.
A word about zucchini blossoms: they’re edible! If you’re lucky enough to find them, take the stamen out, pull off the spikey things at the bottom of the flowers, dip them in a light batter and fry them in really hot peanut oil. I have a great recipe for them stuffed with goat cheese and baked in the oven. And in Greece in the summer they use them to stuff instead of grape leaves. Write if you want that recipe!
I don’t know about you all but I’m getting hungry! Hope this helps give you some ideas about what to do with all that zucchini. If anyone has any other recipes, feel free to share! Happy summer everybody!
