Zucchini Anyone?

[butch-innj]

Here in the Garden State, zucchini is coming in season.
I have 3 of them setting on my counter top that are at least
12" long each.
Anyone have any good recipes to share so we can use these up?
Gardeners always plant so many that they almost throw them at you to get rid of them.

 

[polkanut]

Let me be the first::

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups peeled and grated zucchini
3 cups flour, sifted
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat eggs until foamy, add oil, sugar, zucchini, and vanilla. Mix lightly but well. Add flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and baking powder. Mix together thoroughly. Divide batter into 2 greased 9"x5" loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

My Grandma Wilde made this recipe every year, in fact the recipe is in her handwriting.

 

[maytagbear]

suggestions, not recipes, as such.

slice them across, oil them with olive oil, grill them.

Shred them lightly, lightly salt them, put them in a spaghetti strainer, let the water disgorge for a half hour or so, squeeze them, put them in a frittata.

Shred them, don't salt, but get a recipe for zucchini bread....

Use this size as softball bats????

Look for the zucchini blossoms, UNSPRAYED with chemicals. Dip them in tempura batter or beer batter (1.5 cups flour, 1.5 cups beer (a 12 ounce can) and fry them.

Next year, don't plant them at all, and just buy them.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[rp2813]

Lawrence, all of what you wrote is excellent advice. I'm not much of a zucchini person but do know that you should harvest them when small. Think about the size you find in the stores.

I'd rather eat the blossoms than the zucchini. One of the most memorable things I've ever eaten was a pair of tacos from a stand on the plaza in the tiny village of Tepoztlan outside of Cuernavaca, Mexico back in 1981. One was all mushrooms, the best ones I've ever tasted, and the other squash blossoms, made by an old woman who was likely passing along the food of her native ancestors. This was one of the highlights of the trip; I and my friend who ordered the same thing still talk about those simple but amazing tacos. I think in U.S. money they probably cost a little over a dime apiece.

Ralph

 

[kenmoreforever]

Zuch is the bomb man. There is no bad way to prepare it. Kinda like Bubba and his shrimp on Forest Gump for me here. but try it pickled overnight in vinegar, u will love it. Grilled is great too basted with really good olive oil.

 

[iheartmaytag]

I like it steamed and lightly buttered with garlic salt and pepper.

Smaller zuchs can be sliced and used like cucumbers in salad. or if you are in the mood pickled.

Rolled in a beer batter an fried.

 

[butch-innj]

Polkanut......

I have that exact same recipe in my Mom's handwriting.
She got it from her Mom or maybe older sister.
It makes wonderful zucchini bread.
I love it with cream cheese on.

 

[retro-man]

I love cutting them up into 1 inch slices, cover them with Adobo seasoning. Cover let sit for1 hr. Either grill or sautee with butter. Great side dish. I actually love the large ones that you find later in the summer. Cut the stem top off. Slice in half lengthwise. Take a large spoon and clean out the seeds so you only leave the meat. Stuff with any thing you want. I have made meatloaf and stuffed both halfs a little sphagetti sauce cover with foil and back for at least an hour at 350 - 375. I have used taco meat, sausage stuffing, american chop suey. Let cool slice into pieces, people can't believe it comes out so tender.
Jon

 

[ronhic]

Anything much larger than 12" is starting to become a Marrow. My father is king of them in our family. I've seen them come out of his garden over 2' long and so heavy you can barely lift them....

Everything that people have suggested are lovely ways to eat them....but mum also bakes them when they get large...

Simply slice in half and put in the pan with the meat when it is nearly done flesh side down, turn and then add some cracked pepper and salt.....

or

Grate them with some carrot and use to bulk out bolognaise sauce....

or

us a heavy bolognaise sauce, and some rice and tasty cheese. Cut sections 4" thick, hollow out. A little foil around the bottom. Fill with bolognaise/rice/cheese mix. Top with a little cheese and bake until tender....

 

[brisnat81]

I like the big ones sliced into 1" steaks and fried in butter, they look amazing and taste great.

The other thing I do, is a Zuchini and Salmon Slice.

Tts just a combo of the following
Grated Zucchini
6 Eggs
Grated Carrot
1 Large Can of Pink Salmon
200g Bacon
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup flour

Mix all of the above together and bake until golden.

Tastes better the next day, and is great as a cold picnic food.

 

[kenmoreforever]

ronhic, forgive me for my culinary ignorance but what is bolgnaise? It sounds good. tell me more of it.

 

[xraytech]

I use a very similar zucchini bread recipe as Polkanut, except mine has crushed pineapple in it and I add some rasins and chopped dates if I have dates on stock. Those loaves freeze really well.

but, my favorite way to fix zucchini is fried.
you slice into thin rounds, then in 3 pie plates have flour seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder in one, a few eggs beaten with a touch of water in another, and seasoned breadcrumbs in the third.

First lightly flour, tapping off all excess, then dip into egg, then cover well in bread crumbs.
Then fry in an electric skillet with about 1" of salad oil set at 375 degrees, flip over once while frying until both sides are golden, remove from fat an ddrain on paper.

I lik ethese served best with a little fresh squeezed lemon juice drizzled over the slices and I like to dip in either marinara, or a mild horseradish sauce

 

[maytagbear]

Bolognese

is the correct Italian for what most people in the States call "tomato meat sauce."

When I am doing it right, I use pork neck bones in addition to ground beef or ground veal. When I can't get neck bones, I use boneless pork chops, coarsely chopped/ground.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[ronhic]

What Lawrence said ^^^^^^^

 

[sudsmaster]

Ralph,

Don't forget: Hayward has a Zucchini Festival every summer.

It's probably coming up pretty soon.

I got a late start on the garden this year but one volunteer plant is putting out interesting little jade green squash. Sort of like a cross between the humongous Trombetta di Albenga climbing squash I planted last summer, and a yellow crookneck that never bore much. The jade squash tastes a lot like the Trombetta, which is a good thing.

 

[phillygrl]

Zuchinni Stew

This is when we eat lots of zuchinni stew. Saute a couple of big cloves of minced garlic, a chopped onion, and some chopped carrots. When the onions are soft, add a can of stewed tomatoes, some basil, and a peeled whole potato. One big potato or a couple of small ones. I like to use yukon golds. Nestle the potato right in the center. Add enough chicken broth to barely cover all. Let this cook till the potato is soft. Add the chopped zuchinni (small ones are the best). Now break up the potato with a fork. Let it cook for about ten minutes. The potato will thicken the sauce, and the zuchinni will be tender, but not mushy. I like it over rice, with some grated parmesean on top. My Mom always made this in the summer.

Lisa

 

[alanlendaro]

the King Artthur Whole Grain baking book ...

has a super recipie for a Chocolate Zuchini Cake... Uses whole wheat flour and cocco along with the chopped Zuchinni. Realy a nice moist, not too sweet, but very chocolaty cake.

 

[alanlendaro]

Lisa, your stew sounds very similar to a dish I make...

Only I don't put potatoes and carrots in it. Just green and yellow squash sauteed in Olive oil until they just start to brown. Then add a clove or two of garlic, a little white wine if its handy, and either some fresh chopped tomatoes or some good canned San Marzano tomatoes imported from Italy. The only way my partner will eat zuchinni aside from it being dipped in batter and deep fried.

 

[jeffg]

The term Bolognese is frequently misused in Italian-American restaurants. It's not simply a tomato-based pasta sauce that contains meat. Authentic Bolognese sauce (what you'd find in Italy) is a meat ragu: it's a brown sauce, not red, and is almost entirely meat (ground beef, sausage and bracciole), spices, and occasionally mushrooms. It contains very little tomato, and sometimes none at all.

Over the years I've come across only one restaurant that served an authentic Bolognese sauce (Cafe Roma in San Luis Obispo, CA). It's exquisitely rich and tasty (and filling!).