Zucchini Zucchini Everywhere...Nor Any Bite to Eat

Between my CSA and my relatives' gardens, I'm awash in zucchini, yet neither partner nor I are the biggest fans of it. So far I've made my mom's Zucchini Chocolate Cake (awesome - moist, spicy, and terrific icing); Chocolate Zucchini Bread with cranberries and pecans (pretty good, and uses a lot of the stuff); oven-fried Zucchini (alright, a lot of mess for just OK); Zucchini fritters; zucchini panini (surprisingly awesome with pepper jack and spicy mustard). I've chopped and added zucchini to stuffed poblanos; pasta salad; white chili; basically anything requiring chopped/sauteed veggies. I've even resorted to eating the stuff raw and plain - not my fave. I've tried zucchini pickles and was disappointed in their spongy texture. I have recipes to try for zucchini lasagna (replacing the pasta with zucchini) and stuffed zucchini, which should take care of a couple, but I'm likely to get more at my CSA pickup on Sunday.

Surely I'm not the only one at a loss for how to use the ever-growing pile of zucchini, and I feel too bad for the ambitious little guys to let them go to waste. After all, they grow so fast and proud, they deserve to be eaten!

Any ideas?

(Oh, and I'll gladly post any recipes for the things mentioned if there is interest)

here's a favorite of mine that I make all the time

http://almostturkish.blogspot.com/2008/ ... urtlu.html

HI,

Grate zucchini into a drainer. Salt iand allow the zuchinni to wilt and sweat liquid. After an hour or so, use paper towels to squeeze remaining liquid out.

Saute onions in oil until soft and carmelizing, then add zucchini to saute until cooked. Season with soy sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Because of the salting, this reduces the zucchini's volume. You can get rid of much more zucchini in one swing.

Tip on zucchini pickles, salt and allow them to drain, too. It allows for a crisper end-product.

Regards,

Thank you! That Zucchini Yogurt salad looks really interesting, and I have a mint plant (and an affinity for Greek yogurt) so I'll be trying that soon.

Cathy2, thank for the salting suggestion as well. I've read of your canning adventures and expertise with great interest. I love pickles, so I'll try your advice to salt and drain them before pickling and try it again.

Grated zucchini freezes well. Blanch and drain well for best keeping.

Zucchini pancakes tend to be very nice -- basically make a Z-muffin or -bread batter, maybe a little thinner, but you get more crispy bits. Oh, and add onion.

Unfortunately, my favorite uses for the big Z use very little of it: sliced thinly on a pizza -- placed atop the cheese, they get caramelized in the oven, and very tasty... and thin slices grilled and served with skordalia: everything's better with garlic.

I've tried to recreate an appetizer I've had at Spacca Napoli.

Use a peeler to make long, thin slices of zucchini. Pan fry in olive oil until some parts are brown. Fold in a handful of crushed fresh mint, salt and pepper. Serve with lemon wedges.

I think this makes a tasty side dish.

JoelF wrote:Zucchini pancakes tend to be very nice -- basically make a Z-muffin or -bread batter, maybe a little thinner, but you get more crispy bits. Oh, and add onion.

I go the "latke" route. Grate, drain, add egg, a touch of flour, herbs, cheese, seasoning. Fry in peanut oil.

See here for more details.


Best,
Michael

I have about 8 lbs. of zucchini I need to use up pretty quickly.
I'm thinking I'll make some zuni cafe zucchini pickles, but other than that I'm stumped (I'm tired of ratatouille) - any ideas?

1) thin sliced, grilled or floured and deep fried, serve with skordalia
2) thin sliced, used as a pizza topping
3) grated, mix with flour, eggs, baking powder and make pancakes
4) thin sliced again, sauteed with garlic
5) scoop out the middle including seeds, chop fine, sautee with garlic and onions and maybe ground meat, stuff back into the shells, put in a baking dish with tomato sauce, top with bread crumbs and parmesan and bake at 350 until shells are tender

All this from memory of the year my parents' garden had more than one hill of zucchini plants

3 and 5 sound really good - that ought to kill at least a lb. or 2

We toss zucchini into boiling water for a quick cook (whole zucchini) then remove, split in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and fill with a mix of sour cream and cheeses (parm is great) ... sprinkle top with more cheese ... quick dash under broiler ... tasty and even kids demolish them ... voila, more zucchini gone!

(and clearly something you can spill up with herbs, spices, bread crumbs, ....

zoid wrote:I have about 8 lbs. of zucchini I need to use up pretty quickly.
I'm thinking I'll make some zuni cafe zucchini pickles, but other than that I'm stumped (I'm tired of ratatouille) - any ideas?

Do you can? If so, then 8 lbs of zucchini pickles isn't very much. Otherwise, zucchini bread, sweet or savory, cooks a bit of the vegetable and they freeze really well.

pairs4life wrote:

zoid wrote:I have about 8 lbs. of zucchini I need to use up pretty quickly.
I'm thinking I'll make some zuni cafe zucchini pickles, but other than that I'm stumped (I'm tired of ratatouille) - any ideas?

Do you can? If so, then 8 lbs of zucchini pickles isn't very much. Otherwise, zucchini bread, sweet or savory, cooks a bit of the vegetable and they freeze really well.

I was actually thinking of zucchini bread but all the recipes I could find were of the sweet variety - do you know a good savory one?

x

I made up a batch of the Zuni Cafe pickled zucchini over the weekend. Very easy and very good! I used red onion instead of yellow and I really like the way it turned out.

zoid wrote:

pairs4life wrote:

zoid wrote:I have about 8 lbs. of zucchini I need to use up pretty quickly.
I'm thinking I'll make some zuni cafe zucchini pickles, but other than that I'm stumped (I'm tired of ratatouille) - any ideas?

Do you can? If so, then 8 lbs of zucchini pickles isn't very much. Otherwise, zucchini bread, sweet or savory, cooks a bit of the vegetable and they freeze really well.

I was actually thinking of zucchini bread but all the recipes I could find were of the sweet variety - do you know a good savory one?

Sorry, I missed this.

I haven't made this but Food Blogga's recipe for savory zucchini bread with cilantro, scallions, & cheddar from last summer was what I had in mind when you mentioned your dilemma.

About halfway down this blog post is my favorite recipe for a savory zucchini bread:

http://insweettreatment.blogspot.com/20 ... bread.html

It's lovely with soup or just a little butter. Very simple to make as well, though be prepared for messy hands (well worth that occupational hazard).