Category: Zucchini

A few years ago I posted a recipe for zucchini butter. It is super easy to make and stores well and makes great topping for toast or tasty grilled cheese sandwich filling (grilled cheese zucchini butter dipped in tomato soup = yum). The recipe uses 2 pounds of zucchini so it is a great recipe to have in your back pocket this time of year.

A couple weeks ago on social media I saw a picture that someone posted using zucchini butter as a pasta sauce.

It looked and sounded delicious. So I made some.

I made the zucchini butter exactly as I did in the former post so I won’t repost that here.

To make zucchini butter pasta follow this recipe and add it to a cooked half box (8 ounces) of spaghetti or any pasta. I used the whole amount of zucchini butter, that was enough for two of us for dinner and two lunches today. I added a little parmesan cheese.  You can leave that out of course.

I also topped it with some roasted crushed almonds, red pepper flakes, lemon zest and basil. The crushed almonds and lemon zest really took this over the top.

I hope you try this it was delicious. I can’t wait for lunch today.

Have a great week.

Mo

We love squash blossoms here at Red Wagon and lots of you do too. But, it seems like at every pickup someone asks me, ‘what do you do with squash blossoms?”. I always say, just tear them up and throw them on anything, salads, eggs, quesadillas, pizza! They are so pretty and add such a delicate floral vegetal flavor to anything, I love them.

Fun, right?

Kai says she stuffs them with cheese and dips them in pancake batter and pan fries them. I did a blog post a long time ago on how I make stuffed squash blossoms.

Today I thought I would show you how I make quesadillas. You can use any kind of tortilla or cheese you have. I like corn tortillas but I have made my share of quesadillas from flour tortillas too. Here is what I had today.

Corn tortillas, squash blossoms, some onions and Manchego cheese, any cheese that melts will do. This made 6 corn quesadillas.

I like to sauté a little onion in oil until they are soft, then I add the squash blossoms to just wilt them. Lots of recipes say to cut off them stem, I love the texture and light zucchini flavor of the stem. I chop up both the blossom and stem up.

When that is just wilted heat up your quesadillas on both sides so the cheese starts to melt a little more evenly. Add the cheese and onion and blossom mixture.

I like to fold them in half, you can leave them whole and top them with another tortilla if you like. I did this.

When you see the cheese melting flip them over and cook them for an other minute or two until the tortilla is soft and the cheese is melty.

I like these with salads and salsa or a bowl of soup, maybe gazpacho or chili.

You can add beans or eggs to make it a more substantial dish too.

I hope you  take some squash blossoms home and whatever you do with them, have fun.

See you at pickup.

Mo

I love vegetable pancakes and fritters. Whatever you want to call them I love them. I make them all the time from all sorts of different vegetables. They are good warm or cold and they make great leftovers.

I used zucchini here but you can substitute cabbage or carrots or potatoes, or kohlrabi for any or all of the zucchini in this recipe-oh, beets are good too! Use this recipe as a guide and use what you have and like.

This recipe doubles and triples easily too. Here’s what you need.

Yield: About six 3- or 4-inch fritters

• 2 medium zucchini or the equivalent or any other vegetable
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 2 scallions or grilling onions chopped
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup any flour you like
• I like a pinch of sugar and a little sesame oil and a sprinkle of sesame seeds, these are all optional. Fresh herbs are delicious here too, bacon, shrimp, grilled tofu…pretty much anything is a nice addition to these.
• Olive or another oil of your choice, for frying

Trim ends off zucchini and grate them on the large holes of a box grater into a mixing bowl.

Put everything else into the bowl and mix  thoroughly. My eggs were really yellow, kind of looks weird, but that is how it looked.

Heat a pan on the stove to medium and lightly film the pan with oil. When it is hot mound the batter on the hot pan and flatten them a bit so they cook through.

Cook them for about 3 or 4 minutes, flip them and cook 3 or 4 more minutes. Continue until all the batter is used.

I like these with a salad like in the first picture, or cut leftovers and dipping them in an Asian dipping sauce for a snack with drinks or a light lunch.

Have a great week. See you at pickup.

Mo

If you like bread and butter pickles you will love these. The texture of the zucchini is really satisfying for some reason. These are great on sandwiches and burgers. We had hummus and salad and pita for dinner the other night and served these on the side, they were delicious. Friends were over and several people commented how much they liked them.

I barely adapted the recipe from several sites all over the internet. 

Makes 1 quart

• 1 pound zucchini-I had 2 medium zucchini
• 1 small yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons salt, a little more if using kosher
• 2 cups cider vinegar-it sounds like a lot but you will need it all
• 1/2 to 1 cup sugar- I use a little more than 1/2 a cup
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoon crushed yellow and/or brown mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1. Wash and trim the zucchini, then slice them lengthwise into 1/16-inch-thick slices on a mandoline. You could slice them crosswise, too, but Zuni’s are lengthwise, I think part of the texture appeal is from cutting them lengthwise.  Slice the onion very thinly as well. Combine the zucchini and onions in a large bowl, add the salt, and toss to distribute. Add a few ice cubes and cold water to cover, then stir to dissolve the salt.
2. After about 1 hour, taste and feel a piece of zucchini—it should be slightly softened. Drain and pat dry. The second picture is after the vegetables were brining for an hour.

3. Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, mustard seeds, and turmeric in a small saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes. Set aside until just warm to the touch. If the brine is too hot, it will cook the vegetables and make the pickles soft instead of crisp.

4. Transfer the zucchini and onion pieces to a quart jar (or the equivalent) and pour over the cooled brine. Seal tightly and refrigerate for at least a day before serving to allow the flavors to mellow and permeate the zucchini. They’ll last for at least a few week in the refrigerator.

I made these Friday and they are almost gone. I have been putting them on almost everything. I had them on leftover pizza for breakfast.

What’s up with that tomatillo salsa? Need a recipe for that?

Have a great week.

Mo

When bloggers say, ‘I’m so excited to bring you this recipe’ it comes across to me as disingenuous . So, you know what I am about to say, right? I am so excited to bring you this recipe, and I am very sincere. You should make this.

This zucchini bread is all grown up. Not the traditional oily ‘bread’ that is really a cake, loaded with oil and sugar.

This is dense and moist, bright and not overly sweet bread ,made with olive oil and lemon and yogurt. It is a perfect breakfast treat or snack.

I saw this recipe in the New York Times and followed it almost exactly, but I did make a few changes. I didn’t use the traditional cinnamon, it seemed out of place to me with the bright lemon and complex taste addition of olive oil. I used ginger and I love how it tasted with the lemon. I upped the lemon zest too. I will note the changes I made in parentheses in the recipe below.

INGREDIENTS
Butter, for the pan
1 ½ cups/185 gr grated zucchini ( didn’t measure, I used two medium size zucchini)
⅔ cup/140 gr light brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup)
⅓ cup/80 gr olive oil (or other
oil such as safflower or canola)
⅓ cup/80 gr plain Greek
yogurt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon/5 gr vanilla
extract
1 ½ cups/190 gr all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup whole wheat  and 1 cup all-purpose flour)
½ teaspoon/3 gr salt
½ teaspoon/3 gr baking soda
½ teaspoon/2 gr baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons/4 gr ground
cinnamon (I didn’t use cinnamon, I used dried ginger)
¼ teaspoon/1 gr ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon/2 gr finely grated
lemon zest (I doubled the amount of lemon zest)
½ cup/55 gr chopped walnuts (I used toasted pecans)
(optional)

PREPARATION
By Melissa Clark YIELD One 8-inch loaf TIME 1 1/2 hours (that is mixing and baking time)

Olive Oil Zucchini Bread
Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch loaf pan.
Step 2
In a large bowl, use a rubber spatula to mix together the grated
zucchini, sugar, olive oil, yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract. (I mixed everything but the grated zucchini together, then I mixed the dry ingredients, then I mixed the zucchini and the nuts)
Step 3
Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, lemon zest
and spices in a separate bowl. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet
ingredients. Fold in the walnuts if using.
Step 4
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40 to 55 (I baked mine 65 minutes)
minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. The bread will be
done when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Step 5
Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan
and cool on a rack completely before cutting and serving

Zucchini butter is spreadable rich, deeply flavored paste that you can put on toast or make into one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches you have ever had. You can top a pizza, or dip crackers or vegetables into this. You can mix it in, or top  any pasta dish with this too. The colors stays this vibrant green after cooking and storing.

It only takes about 35 or 40 minutes to make and it will last 2 weeks in the refrigerator or you can freeze it for up to 6 months.

You just need a few ingredients.