zucchini – Page 2 – Sue's Seasonal Palate

July 22, 2014 Silky Zucchini Soup

A fellow shopper and I were comparing notes as we waited in line at the farmers market. “I don’t like zucchini,” she commented. I didn’t have the chance to ask her, but I am always curious to know what exactly it is that makes someone dislike a certain food. Is it the taste, the texture, the smell, did they suffer through a poor preparation of it, or perhaps a bad childhood memory?
Zucchini, in many recipes is the canvas for the flavors of what is cooked with it, garlic, basil, tomatoes, cheese. I can understand someone disliking seedy, watery baseball bat sized zucchini that is tasteless and pulpy. But just picked small to medium zucchini have a light delicate flavor and a nutty quality to them. Maybe zucchini is not a nutritional powerhouse but it is low in calories and contains folate, potassium and vitamin A.

Zucchini is at the forefront of this recipe courtesy of Grant Achatz, a surprisingly low-tech offering from one of the masters of molecular gastronomy. We had the pleasure of enjoying a multiple course meal at his restaurant, Alinea, on a trip to Chicago several years ago. No need for a refractor or an immersion circulator to master this quick and very simple recipe. This pale green soup with dark green flecks has a creamy silky taste that belies the fact that the only dairy in the soup is one tablespoon of butter. Since the flavor of the zucchini is the star, choose homegrown or farmers market zucchini. The recipe is vegetarian, but could be made vegan just by replacing the butter with olive oil. Good both hot or cold, garnish the soup simply with finely shredded zucchini.

DSC_8216a — The daily harvest at the peak of zucchini season.

Silky Zucchini Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

1T unsalted butter
2T extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and pepper
1 1/2lbs zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2/3c vegetable stock or low sodium vegetable broth
Julienned raw zucchini for garnish

Directions

Melt the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until softened, 7 to 8 minutes.
Add the zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 10 minutes.
Add the stock and 1 1/2 cups of water and bring it to a simmer; cook until the zucchini is very soft, about 10 minutes.
Working in two batches, puree the soup in a blender until it’s silky smooth. Return the soup to the saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Serve the soup hot or chilled, garnished with julienned zucchini.

DSC_8223a — Saute zucchini until softened, about ten minutes.

DSC_8225a — Add stock and water, bring to a simmer and cook until the zucchini is soft, about ten minutes.

August 22, 2013 Zucchini Lasagna

When you grow big zucchini, make zucchini lasagna. In this recipe, zucchini or yellow squash “noodles” replace the usual pasta. I cut the zucchini in half lengthwise first so that I would have a flat surface to work with. A mandoline works best here. In case you didn’t know, a mandoline, also spelled mandolin is a hand operated kitchen tool with adjustable blades that produces uniform slices. They can cost anywhere from about two hundred dollars for a professional stainless steel style model all the way down to less than twenty dollars for a plastic model. The more expensive models will slice, julienne and waffle cut, the less expensive ones just slice. Whatever model you choose, use the hand/finger guard when you run the food against the blade, believe me, I speak from personal experience. If you have steady hands and no slicer, use a sharp knife and be sure to use a cutting board to stabilize the squash to ensure even slices. Since zucchini is 95% water it is best to precook it to reduce excess moisture that will end up in your finished dish. Some of the recipes I saw suggested parboiling, sautéing, but I found that grilling worked well for me. My version is totally vegetarian. If you want something more substantial, add ground beef, turkey or sausage to your sauce. Just like regular lasagna, it tastes even better the next day, if it lasts that long!

Zucchini Lasagna

Serves four to six

Ingredients

3-4 long zucchini/yellow squash
4 c thick tomato sauce
1 15 oz container of regular or low-fat ricotta cheese
3 lightly beaten eggs
2 T fresh chopped basil
2 T fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
1 t dried oregano
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 ½ c grated Parmesan cheese or other similar grated cheese
1 lb grated mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place baking rack in the lower position.
Cut squash into ¼ inch thick slices, to fit the pan lengthwise, if your squash is shorter, just orient the slices in the opposite direction, just be sure they cover the pan. You should have enough slices to make three layers.
Heat a grill pan or an outdoor grill to medium high heat. Brush both sides of the slices lightly with olive oil.
Grill squash slices on both sides so that they have grill marks, 3-5 minutes each side. Squash should be cooked but not falling apart.
In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, eggs, parsley, basil, oregano and a cup of the Parmesan cheese. Reserve the rest for the top layer.
In a 9×13 glass or ceramic dish, spoon a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Place the first layer of squash over the sauce. Spoon a third of the ricotta mixture over the squash. Sprinkle with a third of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layers two more times, sauce, “noodles” ricotta, ending with the mozzarella cheese and reserved Parmesan from step four.
Bake for one hour, rotating pan half way through cooking time. Let lasagna rest for at least a half hour before serving.

DSC_1844a — I used my Matfer mandolin slicer, a gift many years ago to get neat uniform slices.

DSC_1850a — Use the grill or a grill pan to slightly cook the zucchini.

DSC_1998a — Fresh zucchini with tomato sauce, delicious!

August 3, 2012 Zucchini “Pasta”

Gardeners, we’ve all done it. You are diligent at first picking zucchini from your garden. For days you happily pluck small to medium zucchini off the vines, sometimes with the blossoms still attached. Then it happens, you get busy doing other things, it rains for several days or you just simply forget. Those compact little fruits are now the size of a major league baseball bat. Well, before you make one more loaf of zucchini bread or sneak it down to the compost pile, I have another idea.

I make something I refer to as “zucchini pasta”. Kuhn-Rikon, a Swiss cookware company has a tool that makes short work of over-sized zucchini. The stainless steel julienne peeler moves effortlessly down the length of the squash. Steady the zucchini with one hand, start at the top, press the teeth of the peeler into the flesh and pull down. You will have the finest Julienne imaginable in no time. Just stop soon enough to avoid the seedy interior. Although all varieties of zucchini work well with this preparation, I especially like the Italian variety Striato d’Italia which translates Italian stripe. When this variety gets bigger, it doesn’t get as fat as other zucchini, it gets longer, making for longer capellini pasta-like shreds. Put your strands into a bowl and separate any that stick together with your fingers. I like to slightly wilt the strands in a saute pan with some olive oil but they could be used raw. I like to toss the “pasta” with some pesto and sometimes I will add halved cherry tomatoes, either raw or cooked slightly. You could also pair it with a cooked tomato sauce or just about anything you like on regular pasta. Don’t just use the julienne peeler for zucchini. Shred carrots and jicama for a slaw or beets for a salad. The possibilities are limitless.

The longest zucchini in this picture is 22 inches!

The julienne peeler makes short work of this zucchini.

Use your fingers to separate any strands that stick together.