When it comes to summer vegetables, itap easy to wax poetic about tomatoes and sing the praises of sweet corn. But summer squash seems to get the shaft — especially zucchini.
A recent survey of home gardeners by Jarden Home Brands found that almost a third named the tomato as their favorite vegetable to grow versus a mere 3 percent for zucchini. Of course, zucchini isn’t as zaftig as tomatoes or as colorful as the ever-expanding array of bell peppers. But zukes are, ahem, prolific.
If you’ve grown zucchini, you know they can produce in a way that rivals the reproductive cycle of rabbits, and while you’ll always find takers for your tomatoes, no one’s jumping at the chance to take more than one or two small zucchini off your hands. Itap no accident that there’s an actual day — Aug. 8 — designated as “Sneak a Zucchini on Your Neighbor’s Porch Day.” It corresponds with the point at which home gardeners have serious regrets over planting more than one zucchini plant.
A couple of summers ago, I was driven to desperation by two plants that produced 17 pounds of zucchini seemingly overnight, thanks to their uncanny ability to hide perfectly sized specimens within their foliage so that I didn’t see them until they were weighty behemoths.
If necessity is the mother of invention, a bumper crop is the cradle of a thousand recipes. I first sought refuge in the pages of Mollie Katzen’s “Moosewood Cookbook” and her vegetarian recipe for “zuccanoes” — stuffed zucchini filled with rice and mushrooms. Inspired — and craving pizza — I filled eight zucchini boats with Italian sausage, peppers and mushrooms, and topped it with moz-
zarella.
The great thing about zucchini is that, in addition to being low in calories and a good source of vitamin C, itap a bit of a culinary chameleon, a relatively neutral base that is easily adapted to any number of flavors and cuisines.
Italian tops the list, because even though summer squashes originated in the Americas, the particular squash we call zucchini was bred in Italy — and itap a great partner for pasta dishes, including roasted vegetable lasagna.
Chef Philippe Breneman, who heads
the kitchen at The Lexington House in Los Gatos, Calif., likes zucchini for its simplicity and versatility. He will toss housemade fettuccine, for example, with cooked, cubed squash and a puree of basil and zucchini peel, or showcase a variety of summer squash in a warm salad. That side dish, which adds chile flakes and Pecorino to the zucchini and patty pan mix, can be thrown together in a matter of minutes. Itap ideal for a laid-back backyard barbecue because it tastes just as good warm as piping hot.
Of course, there’s only so much zucchini you can serve before your family revolts, so preserving it through pickling or freezing is a good option. Zucchini relish, for example, is great on grilled burgers, but canning is hot, time-consuming work, which is why the quick refrigerator pickles served at San Francisco’s Zuni Cafe are so brilliant. The tangy-sweet zucchini chips are excellent on a cheese and charcuterie platter for nights when itap too hot to cook. They’re an especially great counterpoint to rich paté or rillettes spread on crusty bread.
Don’t forget dessert. A cup or so of finely shredded zucchini adds moisture to your favorite chocolate cake recipe — and zucchini bread is every overzealous zucchini gardener’s friend. There are plenty of mediocre bread recipes out there, but that 17-pounds-of-zucchini summer provided ample fodder for experimentation.
My buttery version, subtly spiced and brightened with grated lemon zest, wound up winning first place at the county fair. I make at least a couple of double batches each year, so I can freeze the mini-loaves to pull out during the fall and winter, when summer’s bounty is a distant memory.
And you can bet the next time I have a bumper crop, I’ll be waxing poetic about the wonders of zucchini — with relish.
Stuffed Zucchini
Serves 4
4 medium zucchini, each 7 to 8-inches long
8 ounces Italian sausage, removed from casings
1⁄2 cup onion, finely chopped
1⁄2 cup bell pepper, chopped
1⁄2 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped
3⁄4 cup tomato sauce (or 2 medium tomatoes, pureed)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, or
1 teaspoon dried
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
1⁄2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1⁄3 cup black olives, chopped, optional
1⁄2 cup breadcrumbs, optional
1⁄2 cup shredded mozzarella
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Trim ends off the zucchini and slice them lengthwise. Using a fork or grapefruit spoon, carefully scrape out the flesh, leaving a 1⁄4-inch shell intact. Chop the zucchini pulp; set aside.
2. Place the zucchini “boats” on a sheet pan or a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, using a vegetable peeler to remove a strip off the bottom of each “boat” if they’re too rocky. Brush or spray the insides with olive oil; season with salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage, cooking until itap nicely browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer meat to a plate.
4. Pour out all but a tablespoon of the leftover fat, and reduce heat to medium. Add onions and peppers and cook for about 5 minutes or until slightly softened. Add mushrooms and reserved zucchini pulp; cook 7 to 8 minutes, or until most of their moisture is gone. Add tomato sauce, basil and garlic; cook 2 to 3 minutes more.
5. Return meat to the pan along with the grated Parmesan. Add the olives and breadcrumbs, if desired. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into the zucchini “boats” and top with grated mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve hot.
Alternatives: This recipe can be customized to suit any taste. Give it a Southwestern twist, for example, by replacing the sausage with chorizo. Omit the bell peppers and mushrooms; instead, stir in a ½ cup each of black beans and fresh corn kernels with the tomato sauce. Finish with a sprinkling of Monterey Jack.
— Jennifer Graue
Zucchini With Pecorino and Chile Flakes
Serves 4
Note: Chef Philippe Breneman uses a mixture of summer squash, including zucchini, yellow squash and patty pan for color and shape contrast.
1 pound zucchini or assorted summer squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 lemon, cut in half
1⁄4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Pecorino Romano
Fresh basil and parsley, chiffonade
Salt to taste
1. Rinse the squash in water and pat dry. Using a vegetable peeler or mandoline, peel off a few ribbons of zucchini and coins of patty pans, if using, for the garnish and set aside. Roughly chop the remaining squash into 3⁄4-inch chunks and place them in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and give it a toss.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil, then add the squash in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the pan. Cook in batches, if necessary, so you sear rather than steam the squash. Cook for about 1 minute until the squash is golden brown, then flip them over and brown the other side for about a minute, being careful not to overcook. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and the crushed pepper flakes to the pan. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if necessary.
3. Transfer squash to a serving platter. Using a vegetable peeler, shave ribbons of Pecorino over the squash and garnish with the reserved raw squash ribbons and fresh herbs. Serve hot or at room temperature as a warm squash salad.
— Adapted from chef Philippe Breneman,
The Lexington House, Los Gatos
Blue Ribbon Zucchini Bread
Makes 1 large or 3 mini loaves
Note: Add a handful of finely chopped walnuts or chocolate chips to the batter, if you wish.
1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
1⁄4 cup butter, melted
1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
1⁄4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 1⁄4 cups shredded zucchini (about 5 ounces)
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan (or 3 mini loaf pans), shaking out any excess flour.
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, oil, butter, both sugars, vanilla and lemon zest; mix by hand until well combined, making sure there are no lumps of brown sugar. Stir in zucchini. Add flour mixture to zucchini mixture and stir until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Do not overmix or the bread will be tough.
4. Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan(s). Bake for 50 to 60 minutes (30 to 35 for mini loaf pans), until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
— Jennifer Graue
