Zucchini and Ricotta Gratin

Another recipe in my exploration of vegetable and and ricotta gratins. The dried peppers soaked up some of the excess moisture from the zucchini which helped to keep the gratin from being too juicy. Definitely something to add to the zucchini repertoire.

Olive oil
1 oz. Pancetta, chopped
1/4 very large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. zucchini, diced
1 oz. dried roasted sweet peppers, chopped
8 oz. sheep milk ricotta
1/2 cup creme fraiche
1/2 cup stock
3 eggs
1 teaspoon dried Oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons fermented pepper flakes
2 oz. Parmesan, grated.
Bread Crumbs
Almond meal (optional)
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil a 6-cup oval gratin dish.

Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-low heat, add the pancetta and cook until soft. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Stir in the garlic and add the zucchini to the pan, cook about 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until softened. Stir in the dried peppers and set aside to cool slightly.

Whisk together the ricotta, creme fraiche, stock, and eggs. Stir in the oregano and pepper flakes and then fold in the vegetables.

Pour the vegetable mixture into the gratin dish, evenly distributing the vegetables in the dish, smooth the top. Evenly scatter the grated Parmesan over the top, then the bread crumbs, then the almond meal. Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil over the top and bake for 1 hour.


Variation #2
Used 1/2 large red onion.
Added 2 tablespoons Sonora wheat flour to the custard mix.
Added about 1 teaspoon dried Persian mint.
Omitted almond meal from topping.

Ricotta and Dried Tromba D'Albenga Stuffed Prosciutto Rolls

I'm always looking for ways to use my stash of preserved vegetables. This dish uses both a dehydrated veggie and homemade frozen tomato sauce. The grated squash that I used can be used interchangeably with zucchini, Tromba D'Albenga squash is harvested young, firm, and green and used like zucchini. The dried squash does not have to be rehydrated, it will absorb the moisture from both the ricotta (don't drain it, include any whey that might collect in the container) and from the tomato sauce. The dish can be assembled ahead of time and then baked for serving hot from the oven. Go light on the salt in this dish since both the prosciutto and Parmesan are salty to begin with and perhaps your tomato sauce too.

12 ounces sheep milk ricotta
1 ounce dried shredded Tromba D'Albenga squash or zucchini
1 ounce freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried fermented Aji Amarillo Grande flakes
Freshly grated nutmeg
12 thin slices prosciutto
2 cups prepared tomato sauce
additional freshly grated Parmesan cheese
crunchy dried breadcrumbs
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 325ºF.

Gently fold together the ricotta, dried squash, Parmesan cheese, pepper flakes, and nutmeg. Use your hands so as not to crush the zucchini if it is very dry. There's no need to salt the filling because the prosciutto and Parmesan are salty enough.

Smear a bit less than 1 1/2 ounces of the ricotta mixture over a slice of prosciutto, no need to be precise, it doesn't have to go all the way to the edges nor does it have to be smoothed out evenly. Then loosely roll the prosciutto starting from a short side, you want a short fat roll rather than a long skinny one. Set aside and prepare the rest of the rolls.

Smear the bottom of a 6 cup oval gratin dish or similar sized baking dish with some of the tomato sauce. Arrange the rolls in the baking dish, pour the rest of the tomato sauce over the rolls, sprinkle more prosciutto over the top, sprinkle a couple of tablespoons or so of breadcrumbs over all and then drizzle some olive oil in a pattern over all.

Bake until heated through and bubbling around the edges, the rolls should have puffed up some, about 45 minutes.

Serves 4, or perhaps 6 or more as an appetizer.

Zucchini and Spinach Gratin with Ricotta Custard

My adaptation of a recipe from Deborah Madison's Book The Savory Way takes advantage of dried zucchini and frozen spinach from the garden. A pound of fresh zucchini dries down to about 1 ounce. I rehydrated it with the liquid that the frozen zucchini gives off as well as the moisture from the mushrooms and onions. The vegetable mixture should be prepared in advance to allow the zucchini to absorb the moisture from the other vegetables. It can be mixed and kept in the refrigerator overnight or longer.

1.25 ounces (35 g.) dried sliced Romanesco zucchini
8 ounces frozen spinach, thawed, excess moisture squeezed out and reserved
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste thinned with a little water
sweet fermented pepper flakes to taste (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
crumbled dried oregano to taste

1 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 cup milk, cream or a combination
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt
freshly ground pepper
freshly grated nutmeg

Place the dried zucchini in a bowl. Add the reserved spinach water to the zucchini and set aside.

Warm the oil in a medium skillet and add the onions and garlic. Sauté about 1 minute, then add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook until the mushrooms soften and begin to release their liquid. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of zucchini, stir to mix, cover and set aside for a few hours or overnight in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Season the rehydrated zucchini mixture with the tomato paste, pepper flakes, parsley, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the mixture to a gratin dish. Chop the spinach and distribute it over the zucchini mixture, season with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Beat the ricotta with the eggs, then stir in the milk or cream, the cheese, and the remaining parsley. Season with salt and nutmeg. Pour the mixture over the vegetables. Bake until the custard is set and lightly browned on top, about 40 to 45 minutes. Allow the gratin to stand about 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm.

Makes 4 main course servings.

A Stew of Beans, Pork Sausage, Zucchini, Tomatillo, and Green Chile

This came together as a result of raiding my pantry and freezer. I had tomatillos that had been roasted until soft and then frozen. There was a frozen packet of green Anaheim peppers that I had roasted, peeled, and seeded. The pork sausage was from the freezer also. Beans were from the pantry and dehydrated sliced zucchini from the refrigerator. I started the beans in the morning using what has become my favorite slow cook method. The slow method works magic with old beans. My 3 year old Petaluma Gold Rush beans took about 6 hours, fresher beans will cook more quickly and different varieties cook at different rates.

For the beans:

8 ounces Petaluma Gold Rush beans
1 quart water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 inch piece dried kombu kelp (supposedly has enzymes that make the beans more digestible)

Combine the beans, water, salt, and kelp in a lidded heavy 2 to 3 quart casserole (such as a Staub cocotte). Place in the oven and turn it on to 250ºF and bake for 1 hour. Turn the heat down to 220ºF and continue to cook until the beans are tender but not falling apart. Check on the beans every hour and then more often when they start to soften. Don't let them boil.

When the beans are done remove them from the oven, remove the lid and allow them to cool in their broth. They can be done ahead and refrigerated overnight in their broth. Remove the kelp or not, after 6 hours it will be falling apart and will just disappear into the sauce of the finished dish without leaving a noticeable flavor.

For the stew:

1 ounce dehydrated sliced zucchini
1 pound bulk pork sausage or ground pork
Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
A pinch of ground cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon Oregano Indio
1 teaspoon dried fermented Aji Amarillo Grande pepper flakes
About 2 cups roasted tomatillos
About 8 ounces roasted and peeled green Anaheim peppers, coarsely chopped
About 2 teaspoons or more piloncillo sugar (or brown sugar) or to taste
Creme fraiche and grated cheese to serve

Place the zucchini in a bowl and add enough of the bean broth to cover generously. Set aside and allow it to soak. This can be done a few hours in advance but that long is not necessary.

Heat a large enameled cast iron casserole over medium heat. Break up the sausage with your hands and add it to the casserole with a splash of olive oil and cook until browned, breaking it up more with a wooden spatula as it cooks. Turn the heat up near the end to cook off most of the juices. Drain the cooked sausage, reserving the fat, and set the sausage aside. Return the fat to the casserole and add more olive oil and heat it over medium heat. Saute the garlic briefly and then add the onion, continue to cook until the onion is translucent. Add the cumin, cinnamon, Oregano Indio, and pepper flakes to the casserole and stir a minute or so. Add the tomatillos and break them up with a potato masher. Add the peppers, the zucchini with their soaking liquid, and the pork. Bring to a simmer, cover the casserole, and cook until the zucchini is just al dente. Add the beans with their remaining broth and the sugar. Bring back to a simmer and heat through. Taste for sugar and salt.

Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprinkling of grated cheese, I used Carmody but a jack cheese would be nice too.

Made about 6 to 8 servings.

Zucchini "Lasagna"

A massive glut of zucchini and an avoidance of carbs led to an experiment with using zucchini as a substitute for pasta for a meatless lasagna. I think I'm on to something here but the method still needs some work.

Zucchini is full of water so simply slicing zucchini and layering it with the other ingredients would just lead to a soupy mess. I've had a lot of success using fully dehydrated zucchini rounds in veggie stuffed frittatas where I simply toss the dried zucchini in with the rest of the veggies and don't even bother to reconstitute the zucchini. The zucchini slices absorb moisture and flavor from the other veggies and the eggs as the frittata bakes. I tried using partially dehydrated zucchini to try to mimic al dente pasta in the lasagna. This version was very good but it was still a bit too soupy.

I didn't weigh how much zucchini I used but it was 5 good sized Romanesco zucchini about 8 to 10 inches long and about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

For my first attempt I sliced the zucchini lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices using a mandoline. Then I salted the slices (no measuring, a few generous 5 finger pinches of kosher salt) and let them sit for 1/2 hour to draw out some moisture. I then rinsed and dried the slices and let them dry in a dehydrator set to 125ºF for almost 2 hours, they were still moist and quite pliable, maybe about half the volume of the fresh slices.

I layered the zucchini with 2 cups of tomato sauce, 12 ounces of sheep's milk ricotta, 8 ounces of buffalo mozzarella, and an unmeasured amount (fairly generous couple of handfuls) of finely grated parmesan, and some drizzles of extra virgin olive. I used an oval gratin pan that's about 9 x 12 inches.

The "lasagna" baked at 350ºF for 30 minutes and then another 10 minutes at 325ºF until the top was nicely browned. We at it after it sat for about 30 minutes.

Adjustments for the next attempt:

- Allow the zucchini to sit with the salt for an hour and then increase the time in the dehydrator. 3 hours perhaps?

- Bake at 325ºF for the entire time. 45 minutes?

Lamb and Rice Stuffed Zucchini Boats

I used 4 large zucchini for this dish, each one was long enough that I could cut it in half and then slice each half lengthwise to make 4 "boats" from each zucchini, for a total of 16 boats. 3 or 4 boats makes a good main course portion (or 5 for my Dave). Dave did declare that this dish should be placed in the Zucchini Top Ten. I made the Ras Al Hanout spice mix from a recipe in Paula Wolfert's book The Food of Morocco.

2 1/4 lb. zucchini, stems and blossom ends trimmed
salt
1/2 cup short grain rice (risotto rice)
2-3 tbsp. butter
1/4 large sweet onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ras al hanout spice mix
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 lb. or so ground lamb
2 cups canned tomatoes or fresh tomato pulp
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp. pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp. olive oil

Cut the zucchinis in half lengthwise. Scoop out the centers of the zucchinis with a melon baller leaving about a 1/4-inch thick shell. Reserve the zucchini guts. Salt the cut sides of the zucchini boats and let them sit about an hour to draw out some moisture. Meanwhile assemble the filling.

Soak the rice in cold water to cover by an inch for 20 minutes. Drain and reserve.

While the rice is soaking, melt the butter in a medium sized saute pan over medium heat. Saute the onions in the butter until they are translucent. While the onions are cooking, chop the zucchini guts, then add them to the pan and continue to cook over medium to medium low heat until the zucchini is tender and most of the excess moisture is cooked off, don't allow the mixture to brown. Add the garlic and ras al hanout to the pan and cook a few more minutes. Transfer the zucchini mixture to a medium sized bowl, stir in the drained rice, season with a teaspoon of kosher salt, and allow the mixture to cool.

Crumble the ground lamb into the cooled zucchini mixture and mix it in thoroughly with your hands. Pat the zucchini boats dry with paper toweling. Spoon the stuffing mixture into the zucchini boats, packing it in and mounding it slightly. At this point the stuffed zucchinis can be placed on a tray, covered and refrigerated.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Oil a large baking dish, one large enough to hold the zucchinis in one layer, with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Arrange the zucchinis in the dish, they can be closely spaced, but not packed in tight. Crush the tomatoes and spoon them evenly over the zucchinis. Season with freshly ground black pepper, drizzle with the pomegranate molasses and olive oil. Place a large sheet of parchment paper over the zucchinis, it should be pressed down on top of the zucchinis with the excess paper scrunched down around the edges.

Bake the zucchinis for about half an hour (I used the convection fan for this phase), until bubbling hot. Then uncover the dish and continue to bake for another 20 to 30 minutes (no convection) until the filling has expanded and the rice is visibly cooked. Serve hot with a drizzle of the pan juices.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms in Sage Butter

For this dish I like to pick the zucchini blossoms at the end of the day when they have closed up but before the tips of the flowers have started to twist around, it makes them easier to fill without having the filling ooze out. Even blossoms that are a day old are ok if you can untwist the tips of the petals to push the tip of the pastry bag into the blossom. I don't remove the pistils or stamens from the blossoms but I do check inside to be sure there aren't any trapped insects. I usually have to collect blossoms for 2 to 4 days to get enough and have found that they keep well for a few days in the refrigerator in a large sealed container or a large bowl covered with plastic wrap. Plastic bags don't work as well, the blossoms get too battered.

If you have an aversion to using a pastry bag and have to use a spoon to fill the blossoms then you should pick the blossoms before they close up or you will have one huge exercise in frustration trying to stuff the blossoms. Try to twist the ends of the blossoms together so that the filling doesn't ooze out. That's a bit frustrating too, really, just try the pastry bag. I use a lightweight plastic pastry bag (Magic Line 14") which hasn't had the tip trimmed to fit a metal tip (no metal tip required for this recipe).

The stuffed blossoms are wonderful as an appetizer for 4 to 6 people or for a meatless main course for 2 or 3 people (2 if my husband is at the table).

6  tablespoons butter

1/4 ounce fresh sage leaves (about 24)

8 ounces whole milk ricotta (drain on paper towels if very wet)

1 1/2 ounces grated parmigiano

1 tablespoon whole wheat pastry flour or unbleached all purpose flour 

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

a generous grating of fresh nutmeg

8 to 12 zucchini blossoms, depending on size

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Melt the butter over low heat in a flame proof baking dish or oven proof skillet. Add the fresh sage leaves to the pan, turn the heat up to medium-low and cook until the butter solids turn brown and the sage leaves crisp. Remove the pan from the heat. Remove the sage leaves from the pan and set them aside on a dish to cool. When cool, set aside 8 to 12 large whole leaves and chop the rest.

Mix together the ricotta, parmigiano, flour, egg, salt, nutmeg and chopped sage leaves. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag. Stuff each blossom by pushing the tip of the pastry bag into the blossom and gently squeezing in enough to fill the bottom of the blossom (up to the point just below where the petals separate out into points). Lay each blossom in the baking dish and turn each blossom a couple of times to coat them a bit with the browned butter. Grind some fresh black pepper over all the blossoms.

So, here's the iffy part of the instructions, I haven't kept track of the time that the blossoms have been spending in the oven, but if memory serves me right (not always though), it should take about 20 to 25 minutes total. After about 15 minutes in the oven turn each blossom over so that it gets nicely coated with all that yummy butter and place one of the reserved sage leaves on top of blossom. Continue baking until the blossoms have puffed up and the ricotta filling has firmed up. Serve hot or warm.

Shaved Zucchini and Arugula Salad

This is my version of a recipe from Faith Willinger's book Red White & Greens for Zucchini Carpaccio. Her version calls for slicing the zucchini into very thin rounds and laying it out on a platter, much like classic beef carpaccio. I like to slice the zucchini lengthwise into ribbons and pile them in the center of the plate or platter and then finish arranging the dish. I also prefer to use a good red wine vinegar or my favorite Merlot Agrodolce (sweet & sour) vinegar instead of blasamic vinegar. Whatever vinegar you choose to use, it shouldn't be too harsh.

The key to success for this dish is to use the freshest zucchini possible and you may want to try different varieties of zucchini to find one that you like for eating raw. The other trick to getting this dish right is slicing the zucchini. I use an inexpensive Benriner slicer most of the time or if I'm going to be preparing a larger amount I'll haul out my big stainless steel mandolin slicer.

Slice the zucchini so that the ribbons aren't so thin that they collapse under their own weight, but not so thick that they are too thick to curl easily. It doesn't really matter that some are too thin or thick, once all the zucchini are piled together they will look fine. But I also find that the texture of the raw zucchini is most pleasant to my taste when it is sliced just right.

Shaved Zucchini and Arugula Salad

2 small very fresh zucchini
1 small bunch of arugula, coarsely chopped or torn
Red Wine Vinegar, best quality, 2 to 3 teaspoons
Extra virgin olive oil, 2 to 3 tablespoons
Flaky sea salt such as Maldon
Freshly ground pepper
Parmigiano

Slice the zucchini into very thin strips that will curl prettily on the plate. Mound the zucchini in the center of each plate or on one large platter. Scatter the arugula over the zucchini, drizzle with the vinegar and olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste. Shave the parmigiano as thinly as possible with the slicer or a vegetable peeler directly over the salad and serve immediately.

Makes 2 to 4 servings.

Zucchini Hummus

Here's another way to disguise zucchini. Substitute steamed zucchini for chickpeas to make hummus. I upped the quantity of tahini and olive oil from my favorite chickpea based hummus recipe so this has a nice richness and nuttiness to it. I also used some dried mildly spicy peppers to give it a bit of a kick. When I don't use the dried peppers I usually add a dash or two hot sauce to my hummus.

Zucchini Hummus

1 pound zucchini
2 cloves garlic, peeled
4 halves dried seedless Aji Angelo peppers, or hot sauce, optional
1/2 cup toasted sesame tahini
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspooon ground cumin


Cut the zucchini into chunks and steam for 5 minutes until crisp tender. Immerse immediately in ice water to cool thoroughly. Drain, spin dry or dry on towels.

Chop the garlic and dried peppers together in a food processor. Add the zucchini to the workbowl and process until chopped. Add the tahini to the workbowl and process, adding the lemon juice and olive oil while processing. Add the salt and cumin to the workbowl and continue to process until very smooth. It can take quite a bit of processing to get it very smooth, keep tasting until it is a texture that you like. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.

Makes 3 cups.

Zucchini and Fennel Saute

I was really taken by surprise last night when Dave declared this zucchini preparation to be delicious. It's not that he doesn't like zucchini, nor that he is tired of it yet (he's already jokingly saying that "we're having zucchini again tonight, right?"). My surprise was because I not so subtly tried to sneak fennel onto his plate, it's the fennel that he's not always fond of, so for him to say that it was delicious, not just once but a few times, was a real surprise. Perhaps the zucchini/fennel combo was just basking in the glow of the special treat pasta dish that I also served. Or perhaps not, the zucchini and fennel was good!

Now I need to draw on the rather feeble powers of my memory to reconstruct how I put the dish together. I wasn't taking notes or weighing anything, I certainly did not anticipate that this was something that I might try to make again.

So, to the best of my memory...

Extra virgin olive oil for sauteing
1 large Vidalia onion, cut in quarters stem to root end then sliced (fresh from a friend's garden!)
1 medium large fennel bulb, fronds removed, thinly sliced crosswise
2 large zucchini (the Romanesco zukes have been averaging about 7 to 8 oz per)
About 2 tablespoons salted capers, soaked in fresh water, drained and dried
kosher salt
a large pinch of dried sweet marjoram, crumbled
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
fresh basil, chopped (about 10 or 12 largish leaves)

Heat the olive oil (a generous glug, at least 2 perhaps 3 tablespoons) over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and fennel to the pan and saute, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are translucent and softening, it took just a few minutes (I used a higher heat than I normally would for a preparation like this because I was in a rush and it seemed to work ok). Add the zucchini and capers and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the zucchini starts to soften. Season with salt, marjoram, and garlic. Turn the heat down to medium low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender but not too soft. Add the chopped fresh basil just before serving.

It made about 3 to 4 servings as a side dish.

I think that what Dave found acceptable about the fennel in this dish is that the thin sliced fennel became quite soft. In general it's not the flavor of the fennel that disagrees with him, he doesn't like the texture of raw or undercooked fennel, it's too fibrous. What really worked in this preparation was the sweetness of the fennel and onion in contrast to the salty tang of the capers and the slight bitterness of the zucchini, not to mention the richness of that big glug of olive oil. I don't think that capers packed in vinegar would work in the same way, although the tartness of the vinegar in them would probably be a good contrast to the sweet fennel, so if you only have vinegar packed capers give them a try.

Zucchini Gazpacho - Updated 7/31/17

I've tinkered with the recipe and lightened it up a bit and Dave declared the new version even better than the original.  See my changes below in Variation #1. I'm always tinkering with my recipes, the latest adjustment in July 2017 is listed below.

I think I'm on to something here. There's so much zucchini coming out of the garden that I'm actually thinking up uses for it when I'm laying awake at 1:00 in the morning. I saw a recipe in the paper last weekend for zucchini soup which looked good, but I'm not crazy about hot soup at this time of the year. So I thought about how zucchini might be used in a cold soup. I was thinking about what seasonings I like with zucchini. One of my favorite zucchini dishes features anchovies, garlic, pine nuts, and vinegar. And then gazpacho came to mind. Garlic. Pine Nuts. Vinegar. Gazpacho? Yes, tomato gazpacho's older cousin, white gazpacho.

Tomato gazpacho is well known, but have you heard of (or better yet tasted) its lesser known white cousin? White gazpacho actually came first. The Spanish started making gazpacho long before the tomato hit their shores. It is typically a mixture of garlic, olive oil, bread, water, and vinegar.  Blend in almonds and garnish with grapes and you have Ajo Blanco. There's all sorts of variations on the theme these days, I love to make it with some melon blended into the mix and used as the garnish. Garlic. Pine Nuts. Vinegar. Gazpacho!

Not only do I think about zucchini in the middle of the night, but I also stare at dozens of Meyer lemons every time I look out my kitchen window. Oh yeah, Meyer lemon has got to be good with garlic, pine nuts, and vinegar - oh, and let's not forget the zucchini.

If you've adopted a diet that's low in grains and sugar, and high in healthy fats, such as I have, this soup will fit the bill. The zucchini provides the texture that bread does in the traditional white gazpacho and the nuts and olive oil provide a lot of satisfying richness. Add the avocado garnish and oh my, oh yum.

A note about Meyer lemons. They are sweeter than "regular" lemons, both the peel and the juice. Even the white pith of the skin is sweet. You can thickly peel them for this recipe, don't worry about the white stuff, it's good. If you can't get Meyer lemons, don't substitute thickly peeled regular lemons, they are probably too bitter. Try the zest of a regular lemon or just leave it out. I think a good substitute for the lemon peel would be a lemon flavored olive oil either blended in or drizzled on as a garnish.

And a note about vinegar. I used a Spanish moscatel wine vinegar that is very fruity and not too sharp. If you use white wine vinegar, especially if you are using regular lemons, add it a couple of teaspoons at a time until the soup tastes to your liking.

Zucchini ends up giving the gazpacho texture and a beautiful light green glow, it doesn't really have a distinct flavor. Don't skip the step to chill the steamed zucchini, the chilling in ice water will set the bright green color and shorten the time it takes to thoroughly chill the soup. The flavor in this soup is predominated by the pine nuts and lemon. I think toasted skinless almonds would be a good alternative to pine nuts, perhaps even cashews, maybe even pepitas (although the color probably won't be as pretty). Next time I'm trying almonds, I will be making this again.

1 1/2 pounds zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices
1/2 cup lightly toasted pine nuts (4-5 min. @ 350ºF), cooled*
2 to 3 cloves very fresh garlic, less if your garlic is old
1/4 (about 2.5 oz.) sweet onion, such as Vidalia, cut in pieces**
1 Meyer lemon, peels removed with a vegetable peeler, and juiced
1 1/2 cups ice water, or more
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, your best fruity oil
1 to 2 tablespoons Spanish moscatel vinegar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
Avocado
Fresh basil
(tomato, and/or shrimp, and/or roasted sweet peppers might be nice)
Spanish smoked paprika

Steam the zucchini for 5 minutes until crisp tender. Cool immediately in a large bowl of ice water. Drain.

Put the peeled garlic, onion, lemon peels, and pine nuts into a blender and blend until chopped. Add the zucchini and water to the container and start blending. Pour in the olive oil and lemon juice and continue to blend. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon vinegar, blend until smooth, but don't over blend or the soup may start to get warm (especially a problem in a VitaMix). Add more water if you desire a thinner soup or want to serve it from a drinking glass. Taste for seasonings, add more salt and vinegar if desired. Chill thoroughly. Taste for seasonings again, cold lessens the flavor of the seasonings. Serve in chilled bowls or cups, garnished with chopped avocado, slivered basil, and a dash of paprika.

Makes 5 cups

*next time I think I'll try 1/3 cup pine nuts, the flavor almost started to overwhelm before I finished slurping a bowlful
**maybe a bit more onion next time to balance out the pine nuts

Variation #1, 6/28/13

Substitute 1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds for the pine nuts
Increase sweet onion to 4 oz. (maybe a bit less next time)
Use the skin of only 1/2 of a Meyer lemon
Use 2 measured tablespoons of meyer lemon juice instead of just the juice of one lemon
Increase ice water to 2 cups
Use 2 full tablespoons of moscatel vinegar
Change garnish to a mix of baby shrimp and chopped fresh tomato seasoned with salt, pepper, and meyer lemon juice

Thought for the next variation. I would like to make a tree nut free version so I'm thinking of using toasted coconut or perhaps fresh coconut. First I'll try it with the ususal seasonings, and then I may take it for an Asian spin - fish sauce and lime?

Another Variation - June 29, 2014

Same as Variation #1 but changed the garnish to chopped grilled sweet onions and roasted sweet corn kernels seasoned with moscatel vinegar and slivered basil.

Yet one more variation in July 2017

Instead of peeleing and juicing a Meyer lemon, use one 3 ounce Meyer lemon, washed, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices, seeds removed. Blend the lemon slices with the onion, garlic, and pine nuts to form a thick puree. Proceed with the rest of the recipe, but substitute 3 tablespoons of Katz Late Harvest Agrodolce Sauvignon Blanc Vinegar for the Moscatel vinegar. Garnish with halved or quartered cherry tomatoes, chilled peeled salad shrimp, chopped sweet red onion, avocado, chopped cucumber, basil, and cilantro.

Zucchini in Agrodolce

My most recent experiment with this recipe is to omit dredging the zucchini slices in flour (I'm trying to reduce carbs these days, it does help me to keep my weight down) and I've found that the omission hasn't made a noticeable difference. This is one of my husband's favorite dishes and he usually notices when I tinker with it - he didn't notice the difference, so feel free to leave out the flour.

1/3 cup olive oil or as needed
1 1/2 lbs small to medium, firm zucchini,
   cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices
flour
2 tbsp red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp pine nuts
2 anchovy filets, finely
   chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp golden raisins, soaked in lukewarm water 
   or marsala 20 minutes
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste


Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Dredge the zucchini slices in flour to coat lightly, tap off excess flour. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. The less oil the faster the zucchini will brown. Fry the zucchini slices in the oil, making sure not to crowd the pan. Let them turn golden on one side and then turn them over to brown the other side, you may have to turn the heat down a bit if the slices are browning too quickly. Remove to paper towels to drain and continue to cook the remaining slices, adding more olive oil to the pan as needed. When all the zucchini are fried, arrange them on a platter. Turn the heat down to low and drain off all but one or two tablespoons of the remaining olive oil. If the remaining oil seems burnt drain off all the oil, wipe out the pan and add a tablespoon or two of fresh oil.

In a small bowl combine the vinegar and sugar. Fry the pine nuts, anchovies, and garlic briefly in the remaining oil in the skillet, add the vinegar and sugar and the raisins, stir the mixture for a half minute or so and then drizzle it over the zucchini. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve warm or at room temperature.

Zucchini Tart (Scarpaccia)

8 to 16 ounces young zucchini, thinly sliced (use a combination of zucchini and blossoms to total 16 oz.)
4 ounces white or sweet onion, thinly sliced
Salt
5 ounces (1 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups milk or water or a combination
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 egg
zucchini blossoms, up to 8 ounces, roughly shredded by hand, (optional, use all zucchini if you don't have blossoms)
freshly ground black pepper

Place the zucchini slices and onions in a colander and liberally sprinkle with salt. Let them stand and drain for 30 minutes. Pat them dry a bit or spin them in a salad spinner.

Preheat the oven to 450F. Whisk together the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, milk, olive oil, and egg to make a batter. Stir in the drained zucchini and onions and the blossoms if using them.

Oil 2 round metal pans, I use 12-inch pizza pans but 10- to 11-inch metal pie tins should work also. (Lately I've been using an 11 X 17 inch rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper to make one large tart). Use about 2 tablespoons of oil in each pan. Divide the batter between the two pans, using you fingers to distribute the zucchini and blossoms around the pan, pushing them down so that they don't protrude too much. Grind a generous amount of black pepper over the top.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the width of the pans, then reduce the heat to 425F and bake another 8 to 15 minutes, until deep golden, crisp around the edges and set in the center. Grind more pepper over the top, remove from the pan and cut into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: I've seen versions of the recipe that use water instead of milk, or use the water extracted from the zucchini (don't add extra salt), and some versions add grated parmigiano to the batter, other versions add chopped garlic to the batter, others use baby onions, and yet other versions add thyme to the batter. And there's a sweet version that omits the alliums. Experiment and make the recipe your own!

Zucchini Saute

--Olive oil, at least 2 tablespoons
--1/2 of a huge sweet onion (Vidalia), about 1/2 pound, cut into thin slices about 1-inch long
--a heaping tablespoon of salted capers, chopped, no need to rinse
--3 fresh new bay leaves, cut across the rib into fine shreds
--2 or 3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
--6 to 8 fresh young zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise and then crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
--a handful of chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
--lemon juice (Meyer)
--salt and pepper to taste
--grated parmigiano


Heat the olive oil in a large sautee pan over medium heat. Add the onion, turn the heat to high and quickly sautee the onion, stirring constantly, until it starts to turn golden. Turn the heat down to medium and add the capers, bay leaves, and garlic. Sautee until the garlic turns translucent, stirring constantly, the pan will still be very hot so it cooks quickly. Add the zucchini to the pan and stir to combine with the onion mixture. Continue to cook, stirring every minute or so, until the zucchini is tender (about 10 minutes). Stir in the parsley, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with a sprinkle of grated Parmigiano.

Serves at least 4.

Leftover sauteed zucchini (any recipe) is great in a frittata.

Zucchini Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups (12 to 14 oz) coarsely grated zucchini
1 1/2 cups chopped lightly toasted walnuts


Preheat the oven to 350F. Put the flours, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and stir together thoroughly. Set aside.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl until light and foamy. Beat in the sugar, oil, and vanilla. Stir in the zucchini. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir until just combined, stir in the nuts. Divide the batter evenly between 2 greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pans. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted in the middle of a loaf comes out clean. Cool on a rack 10 minutes, then turn the loaves out and finish cooling on the rack.

Makes 2 loaves.

I like to use extra virgin olive oil instead of refined vegetable oils when baking. Refined vegetable oils are treated with some really nasty solvents to remove color, flavor and odor - yuck. I've found that the olive flavor is not at all strong and nobody has ever even noticed the difference.