Summer’s Surplus, all fancied up and ready for company.
It’s that time of year when it’s perfectly ok to eat fresh corn every day, tomatoes appear at every meal, and zucchini magically appear on your doorstep. I’m NOT complaining about the zucchini bounty, especially now that I have my “as seen on TV” spiralizer (a brilliant gizmo everyone should own), but using it up does present a challenge.
You could go the zucchini bread route, but if you’re not in the baking mood or you’re not in to cranking up that oven on a hot summer day, here are some alternatives. First, is a brilliant zucchini bruschetta. I have long suspected that Martha Stewart cuts her recipes to fit the page, leaving out a step or an ingredient here and there. On the positive side, it cuts out the micromanaging of how to make your toasts. If you need a bruschetta clinic, I’ve got you covered. And if you need other ideas on what to put on them, try Funitella Bruschetta, Sicilian Caponata , this creamy crunchy pickled fig extravaganza or sooooo many more things. As for missing ingredients, the only thing Martha missed in this case was a squeeze of fresh lemon. The fact that she left off the fancy fresh herb chiffonades is just a pure gift to humanity.
Zucchini Bruschetta
Ever so gently adapted from Martha Stewart Living, July/August 2015. It’s a good thing, Martha. I promise.
Pro move of the day: salting the zucchini before cooking it draws out water, eliminating sogginess.
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup minced shallot
- 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- a healthy squeeze of fresh lemon juice (not sure how Martha missed this!)
- Toasted baguette slices
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving (optional)
- thinly sliced or grated cheddar cheese (optional)
Method
- Shred zucchini on the large holes of a box grater. (You should have about 4 cups.) Toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a colander set over a bowl. Let stand 10 minutes. Squeeze out excess moisture with your hands.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add shallot; cook 1 minute. Add zucchini; cook until tender and golden, 5 minutes. Stir in red-pepper flakes; Squeeze fresh lemon over the whole shebang and season with salt and pepper. Serve atop baguette slices, drizzled with olive oil, if you must.
Double Zuke Roll-Ups
For the adventuresome (and truly zucchini laden) among you…Out of desperation for a suitable appetizer, I fell upon a brilliant way to put zucchini inside of zucchini. It seems a little cannibalistic, or like a vegetarian version of a turducken. But it all works and it’s tasty. It also uses pesto—preferably with fresh mint thrown in—to address other surpluses in your fridge or garden. Garnish with tomatoes because, well, August tomatoes. I am quite sure this would taste fabulous with some fresh corn stirred in. Yes go ahead try that! Blueberries? Easy now, let’s draw the line right there.
There are no amounts here because we’re using what we’ve got, right? Any leftovers are going into the spiralizer for a zoodle future.
Ingredients:
- Whole zucchini, preferably on the larger side
- Your favorite pesto. This Vegan one was darned good, but pick your fave and sub or add some mint for bonus points
- Zucchini from zucchini bruschetta (see above)
- Balsamic glaze (if you’re fancy, and I know you are)
Method:
Chop off the end of the zucchini and thinly slice into strips. Use either a mandoline (easiest), or bear down hard with a vegetable peeler. Spread some pesto on each strip, and then layer on some of the shredded zucchini mixture. Leave a little space at the end of each strip for a tidy closure. Roll up that bad boy and secure it with a toothpick. When you have all your roll ups on the plate, drizzle with balsamic glaze, if using, just before serving. You can also drizzle some oil on these and bake them to serve with the main meal.
Do you have a favorite zucchini recipe? Or ten? Please let me know!
This picture right here is why you use balsamic GLAZE vs straight balsamic. Live and learn…
