Tag Archives: zucchini

try this

59747568699311e2b28822000a9f1468_7I made Melissa’s Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup last week and I think you should too. It’s simple, nutritious and dee-licious. I made adjustments to the recipe when I subbed garlic powder for garlic cloves, and used a can of full-fat coconut milk in place of the chicken broth, and I daresay the addition of the coconut milk made this soup even silkier than the original. Mel  says she eats this for breakfast. It’s so good, I would too.

What do you think about eating “unconventional” foods at the start of the day?

zucchini “hummus”

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I’ve always been a big fan of hummus, and once I started this paleo thing I was a little bummed to learn that chickpeas, and therefore hummus, are out of the question. Hummus was always my go-to “healthy” snack at parties and potlucks, and it was a reliable dish to keep around during college for hungry afternoons hitting the books. I’ve been fine without it since I got over my original sadness, but what I do miss is the smoky tang of the tahini.

What’s tahini, you ask? It is the foundation of hummus, the building block upon which all other flavors rely. Tahini is a smooth paste made of ground sesame seeds, all nutty and tangy and roasty. Without tahini, hummus and baba ganoush and all other dips would be weak and unappetizing. Additionally, sesame seeds are a great source of calcium, zinc and iron, especially the unhulled variety of tahini (sometimes called sesame seed butter).

SONY DSCSome friends invited us over for dinner last week and asked that I bring a veggie tray, and since no veggie tray is complete without an incredible dip I made a variation on a bean-less recipe inspired by this Christmas gift, using cumin-roasted zucchini in place of chickpeas. The result was just as satisfying — and with an even smoother consistency — as my once-beloved hummus, this time flecked with green and fragrant with spices and garlic. Serve with fresh sliced cucumbers and bell peppers, or even a treat like these raw flax crackers in the photograph. So what if they taste a little like seaweed? They’re GOOD FOR YOU.

Hush up  now and eat your vegetables.

SONY DSCZucchini Hummus

3 small zucchini

1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil

1 c. tahini

2 lemons, juiced

1 tsp. garlic salt (or 2 garlic cloves, in which case you should add salt)

fresh ground pepper

pinch of cayenne

1 Tbsp. cumin

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and slice zucchini lengthwise, and toss in fat of choice (I used coconut oil), and a liberal sprinkling of salt and cumin. Roast until golden on the edges, beginning to char – about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, pulse tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and spices in food processor until smooth. When zucchini is roasted, roughly chop and add to hummus base. Pulse until smooth. Season to taste and enjoy at parties or as an appetizer before dinner at home.

zucchini time

It was confusing to go to Europe and hear the noble zucchini called a “courgette.” This is the French term for the vegetable that Nigel Slater, in comparison to the lilting, sparkling Italian name, deemed “flaccid.” I agree — a zucchini is a zucchini is a zucchini.

Notwithstanding the fact that I’ve used the word too many times, I imagine most gardeners and farmers market attendees are already sick of the zucchini. It’s July and the weather is hot, and those veggies just love to grow to immense proportions under their wide leaves while those who tend them take refuge from the sun. I’ve experienced the shock of finding a femur-sized zuke in the garden, when just the day before there weren’t any of harvesting size. Thankfully, there are plenty of Internet recipe indexes for zucchini recipes, ranging from sweet to savory.

Zucchini bread is a nice way to slip the veggie into a sweet breakfast-y snack, and it was always a staple around our house during the summer months. Zucchini also pairs well with tomatoes and basil, two more hallmarks of summertime garden bounty, and a simple dish of all three stewed down to a warm mush makes a great accompaniment to pasta or a glass of wine, with a simple shaving of Parmesan to finish. Lately, I’ve been adding sliced and diced zucchini to all sorts of veg-protein sautes and fry-ups, and as a rather bland vegetable it easily takes on the flavors of whatever else is in the dish.

I turned a recent zucchini into a little frittata, and paired with a green salad and some sliced tomatoes, it made for a nice supper.

Zucchini Frittata with Bacon + Basil

1/2 large zucchini, thinly sliced into rounds

2 strips thick bacon

1 handful fresh basil leaves, chopped

4 large eggs

1-2 Tbsp. butter

s+p

While preheating the oven to 375 degrees, melt butter in an 8-inch cast iron skillet. Remove, and swirl butter around pan to coat the bottom. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, s+p, and fresh basil. Pour into skillet and arrange zucchini slices, fitting them close together and dunking them down into the egg mixture. Slice bacon strips in half, once lengthwise, and once again widthwise. Slide bacon strips down into pan, fitting them into the egg and in between zucchini. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, then decrease heat to 300 and bake until firm, about 15 more minutes.

(P.S. I’m calling it now: the new “it” flavor pairing is bacon + basil. SO GOOD.)

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Here are some of my favorite zucchini recipes from around the blogosphere:

Sheena is very inspiring, as always. This recipe and this one inspired my own.

The original chocolate & zucchini cake.

And this just looks terrible.