I often see commentary on those cable food stations or in
food publications where people fret over the bounty of that ubiquitous green
summer squash known by the Brits as courgette but commonly known in the States
as zucchini. What’s the deal? I would gladly take all of the zucchini that you
can grow as it usually costs $2.99 to $3.99 per pound in the 50th
and I purchase my fair share throughout the year so $free-99 is ALWAYS a great
price even by the basket load!
What’s a
Courgette?
The fruit, specifically a berry of the Cucurbita pepo species… yes, once again
since all squashes are simply receptacles for seeds or botanical ovaries, they
are botanically classified as berries even if you find them in the vegetable
aisle. And though zucchini sound Italian – and the zucchini we see in the
supermarket were developed in Italy in the late 19th century – all
squashes were derived originally in the Americas. The beauty of that immature
“berry” that we either purchase at the supermarket or obtain from a neighbors
garden is in its versatility as they can be consumed raw or cooked and served either
as the highlight of a dish or simply as a supporting character.
Nutritionally speaking, zucchini by themselves are as
“free” as foods come as 1 cup of sliced zucchini will only “cost’ you about 20
calories. They also provide a good source of potassium and Vitamin C with
pyridoxine (B6), Vitamin A and magnesium. Their bulk also stretches the stomach
to trick your brain into thinking it ate more than it actually did giving you
the feeling of fullness a lot earlier than other caloric laden foods.
As Simple as it
Gets
I first discussed this dish over 10 years ago when we
visited Cucina Restaurant and Wine Bar in San Anselmo and sampled their
Zucchini Carpaccio. Simply prepared with grated zucchini, fresh chopped
parsley, toasted sliced almonds and Pecorino cheese. Crisp zucchini, crunchy
salted nuts, salty savory Pecorino cheese and freshness from the parsley. So
simple yet so satisfying. So to this day, I always purchase several packages of
those salted sliced almonds from Trader Joe’s just to make this dish. Though I
substitute Parmigiano Reggiano for the Pecorino as I think the umami qualities
of Parmigiano highlight the fresh zucchini and parsley a little more. If you
plan on taking this simple salad to a potluck, just place the grated zucchini
between paper towels to sop moisture that’s released from the grated zucchini
as once the ingredients are tossed, the cheese will also pull water out of the
zucchini and you don’t want to start with a soggy mess.
Good to Grill
My favorite cooking application involves a hot grill and
leftover focaccia bread to make that Italian bread salad, panzanella. I simply
spritz zucchini that has been quartered lengthwise with olive oil (most
supermarkets sell olive in spray bottles) then dust with Italian seasoning (you
can also purchase bottled “Italian Seasoning” at all supermarkets), garlic
powder and black pepper then place then on a very hot grill to sear. The goal
here is not to cook the zucchini but rather to simply put char marks on each
side. I also grill other veggies like sliced red, orange and green peppers
along with red onions and fennel bulbs to add to the salad. Once all of the
veggies have those nice grill marks, I remove them and immediately chop them
into bite sized pieces which immediately are spread over cubes of day old (or
even older) baguette or focaccia in a
large mixing bowl. I then cover the mixing bowl with cling wrap to hold in the
steam from the grilled veggies. The combination of the steam and veggie juices
softens the hard cubes of bread acting like a pseudo dressing. Once the bread
and grilled veggie mixture cools, I then toss it with rinsed capers, sliced and
pitted Kalamata or Nicoise olives, rough chopped fresh tomatoes and julienne
fresh basil along with a simple balsamic vinegar and olive oil vinaigrette.
This panzanella can be served either as salad course or side dish and if you
add sliced grilled chicken or pork, it can serve as a complete salad entrée.
Split Belly
Anyone?
I first sampled karniyarik
or Turkish stuffed eggplant years ago at a Turkish friend’s dinner party where
he created several classic Turkish dishes from his childhood. Karniyarik translates to “split belly”
referring to the slit made in the “belly” of the eggplant to introduce the
spiced herb and meat stuffing. While the traditional karniyarik is usually fried, there’s no reason why you can’t bake
or broil the eggplant or even substitute zucchini as the stuffing “holder”.
Refrigerating the cooked meat mixture overnight makes it a lot easier to stuff
the hollowed zucchini halves. Though I’ve only included two versions of
stuffing, the sky’s the limit…
Split Courgettes
1 lb. ground buffalo/bison or ground beef
1 medium minced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
Olive oil
6 to 8 medium zucchinis, halved lengthwise with core
removed
Wine to deglaze pan
Salt and black pepper to taste
Italian version
1 roasted red pepper, minced
½ green pepper, minced
1 can chopped black olives
2 tsp Italian seasoning
Dry Marsala wine
Chopped fresh basil (optional)
Grated cheeses (optional)
Turkish version
¼ cup chopped green onion
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
1 & ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp ground cumin
Sweet Marsala wine
Brown the meat in a sauce pan with a little olive oil
then add the onions and garlic. If browned bits are forming on the bottom of
the pan, deglaze with the dry or sweet Marsala wine. Once the onions are
softened, add the rest of the ingredients and cook until the mixture is
fragrant. Refrigerate overnight then stuff with meat mixture and bake at 400
degrees for 20-30 minutes.
Simply Prevent
Overgrowth
Finally, if you’ve sampled all of my zucchini
applications and are at the point where you can’t bear to consume another
tender green gourd until next summer, simply prevent their growth by harvesting
the blossoms before they turn into baby gourds.
If you’re really motivated, you can stuff the rinsed and
cleaned (they can harbor insects since they are flowers) with a variety of
cheeses then batter coat them and deep fry and while stuffed fried zucchini
blossoms are delicious, they are a wee bit mendokusai
(humbug) to prepare. Or you can use the same stuffing mixture but place the
stuffed blossoms in a baking dish and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
Then again, you can roughly chop the blossoms and sauté
with garlic, onions and peppers then place on a tortilla with a mixture of
cheeses, cover with another tortilla and pan fry for zucchini blossom
quesadilla.
Don’t Bite the
Garden that Feeds You
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