Zucchini – The Unsung Hero of the Garden

If you’ve ever grown zucchini in your garden, you may be familiar with the Zucchini Dilemma. The plant is prolific, and it is quite easy to pass the initial celebratory phase of zucchini production and enter the problematic one – “How do I keep up with this?? How much more zucchini can I possibly eat?? Can I even eat this zucchini? It’s the size of a baby!” At this time of year, peak summer, when tomatoes are starting to ripen and eggplants and peppers are entering the scene, the humble zucchini is really starting to lose its desirability.

Here are three simple and epically delicious zucchini recipes to help prevent this abundant and delicious vegetable from going to waste!

Fresh and Charred Zucchini Salad

Ingredients: 

1 lb small, fresh zucchini and summer squash 

½ cup pine nuts

2 cloves garlic 

1 small shallot, peeled and minced

½ cup finely chopped parsley

½ cup finely chopped mint

2 tbsp capers

2 anchovy fillets (optional)

¼ cup white wine or champagne vinegar 

1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Place the minced shallot in a small bowl and submerge it in the white wine or champagne vinegar. 
2. In a separate bowl combine the chopped herbs with finely chopped capers and anchovies and ½ cup of olive oil, or enough to make it liquidy. 
3. Add the pickled shallots to the herb mixture a little at a time, tasting as you go to make sure that the acidity is balanced. 
4. Use a vegetable peeler to peel ribbons of zucchini, once you can no longer peel ribbons, cut the remaining zucchini into bite sized chunks 
5. In a large cast iron or non stick skillet on high heat, warm 2 tbsp of olive oil. Sear the zucchini for about a minute and then remove it from the heat and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. 
6. To serve, toss the zucchini ribbons and charred zucchini pieces in the herb mixture, plate elegantly and top with pine nuts. Enjoy! 

Zucchini Fritters 

Ingredients: 

For the Fritters: 

1 lb zucchini 

4 garlic whistles, finely chopped

3 eggs 

½ lb feta, crumbled

¼ cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

½ cup AP Flour

½ cup cornmeal 

1 tsp baking powder 

1 Tbsp olive oil 

2 tsp salt 

½ tsp aleppo chili flakes or red chili flakes 

3 Tbsp vegetable oil for frying

For the yogurt sauce: 

1 cup whole milk plain yogurt

1 clove garlic, peeled and grated with a microplane 

Zest from 1 lemon 

¼ cup basil leaves, finely chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil 

½ tsp salt 

½ tsp aleppo pepper or chili flakes (optional)

Directions 

1. Grate ⅔ of the zucchini with a box grater and toss them with 1 tsp salt. Place them in a colander in the sink to drain their liquid. Cut the remaining zucchini into ¼” half moons. 
2. In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, chili falkes and 1 tsp salt. Mix well to combine. 
3. In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, feta, basil, olive oil and chopped garlic whistles. 
4. Squeeze as much liquid out of the shredded zucchini as possible and add it, along with the chopped zucchini, to the egg mixture. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well to combine.
5. In a large skillet over medium high heat, warm up 3 Tbsp vegetable oil until it is sizzling hot. 
6. Scoop ¼ cup of batter into the hot oil and fry for 2 minutes, flip press down to flatten it out with the back of your spatula and fry for another two minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain oil. 
7. Combine all of the ingredients for the yogurt sauce in a medium sized bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. 
8. Serve the hot fritters with cold yogurt sauce and enjoy! Batter will last well in the fridge overnight if you want to fry some up the following day. 

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Brownies 

Ingredients: 

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

½ cup canola or vegetable oil 

2 cups AP flour

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa

2 cups shredded zucchini (don’t squeeze out the moisture)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt 

1.5 tsp baking soda 

1 ¼ cups semi sweet chocolate chips 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350, grease a 9X13 baking pan with cooking spray and set aside
2. In a mixer or with a hand mixer combine sugar, oil and flour until it looks like wet sand. While the mixer is on low, add in cocoa and shredded zucchini, vanilla, salt and baking soda, mix well until combined. Stir in one cup chocolate chips 
3. Pour brownie batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the top. Bake for 28-32 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
4. Cool completely on a wire rack, cut into squares and serve!