June 9, 2009

What's your favorite recipe for...

...zucchini? This isn't a photo of our food waste for the week, it's a perfectly good zucchini that I'm going to fix for dinner. And since one of my favorite things about blogging and following other blogs is turning out to be exchanging recipes, I thought I'd start asking for your favorite ideas for specific foods.

This time it's zucchini, which of course there are a million different ways to prepare. One of my favorites is very simple: just slice it fairly thin, steam it for about 6 to 8 minutes, and add a little butter and salt and pepper. I got that from a friend of mine and it's delicious if the zucchini is cooked enough to be tender and bring out the flavor.

So what are your favorite zucchini recipes? I could title this "what should we have for dinner?" Maybe I'll do that next time. I can't wait to hear all your creative ideas. Please leave them in the Comments section.

14 comments:

Kate Sommers said...

I like to make zucchini with some sauteed onion and garlic.I add a little soy sauce and then slightly brown.Sometimes I'll add a yellow squash to the green ones for color and then sometimes I'll add a bit of sun dried tomatoes and parmesean cheese,that gives it more of a pasta taste.

sherri said...

I really like it with yellow squash, cut in cubes and sauted in olive oil, with garlic, salt, & pepper. But my daughters (9 and 11 yrs) absolutely love it sliced, dipped in egg wash, then cornmeal and pan fryed. We ate so much of it last summer I thought we might turn yellow and green plaid. lol

Alea Milham said...

I like my zucchini prepared as Kate described, but my daughter sometimes prepares a chocolate zucchini cake. If you would like a recipe for how to turn a completely healthy item into junk food let me know!

Anonymous said...

My family loves when I saute garlic and zucchini in olive oil. I then serve it over spaghetti with a sprinkling of sea salt on top. YUM!

terricheney said...

For a main dish, I do this with zucchini. Cut the zucchini lengthwise into thin slices. Layer in a baking dish with parmesan cheese and heavy cream, just as you would any au gratin casserole. Top with breadcrumbs and bake until brown and bubbly. This is easy and yummy!

WilliamB said...

Shred it (no need to peel), pile it in a towel then squeeze the towel to get out the excess liquid. Add the shreds to sauteed veggies (I like adding it to mushrooms), or make patties with mashed potatoes or batter, or toss with garlic and saute by themselves. Or a whole lot of other thing. The key is that you've gotten rid of all that extra liquid that zukes come with and that gets in the way of many cooking methods.

Danae said...

Ooh, pop it in a slow cooker or casserole with onions and some canned tomatoes, season with plenty of garlic, salt and pepper and your away.

Or... this one sounds a little crazy.... cut it into finger width strips, saute lightly and dip into boiled eggs, served with toast and hollandise if it's to your liking.

*dribbles*

Took a minute to register, we call them courgettes over here :)

Angela said...

Thanks for all your great ideas! I'm going to try all of them! I hope I keep getting zucchini in my CSA box every time.

Vinelady said...

I make a pizza type crust using zucchinis. You shred it, drain and mix with egg and some cheese. Top with you favorite topping and pop in the oven.

Finding joy said...

My family loves zucchini baked, similar to a stuffed pepper or stuffed tomato. We let some zucchini grow extra big for this dish!
*I slice of the ends and boil until softer.
*Then slice in half lenghwise.
*Scoop out the centers and remove seeds.
*slice remaining zucchini and mix with already cooked ground meat, sauteed onions or other vegs and tomato sauce.
*Add seasoning to taste.
*add grated cheese
*fill hollowed out zucchini with filling
*bake @350 for about 35-45 mins.
SO delicious!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

My favorite recipe for a lone zucchini... faux crab cakes ! They are so easy to make and so very yummy. Shredded zuke replaces the crab, and then it's mixed with bread crumbs, Old Bay seasoning, and some wet ingredients. Shape the mixture into cakes and then pan fry to deliciousness!

Anonymous said...

Zucchini Snacks (http://www.bettycrocker.com/Recipes/PrintRecipe.aspx?recipeid=36603) are my absolute favorite. Great with a bowl of tomato soup for perfect light dinner.

Angela said...

More delicious-sounding suggestions- thanks everyone! Now I'm determined to buy zucchini if it's not in my CSA box. I want to try all these recipes!

YearofBooks said...

Last summer we received so much zucchini in our CSA I considered creating an entire website to it. I still have some frozen. My favorite ways to prepare it are:
Sliced in an omlet with tomato and feta cheese
Zucchini casserole - slice into circles and add tomatoes, sauted onions, a tablespoon of brown sugar and egg. Top with cheddar cheese and bake uncovered for 1/2 hour and covered for 1/2 hour
Chocolate zucchini bread - yum
Sauted and served over brown rice with lemon juice, fresh mint, and almonds.