Post your ZUCCHINI recipes here! [ETAsk another question, too]

[Mamma2004]

It's July and our zucchini plants are about to explode. I would love to read your traditional and more innovative uses for zucchini.

How do you prepare zucchini as a side dish? As part of an entree? How do you sneak it into desserts? I love to grill or oven roast it, plus I often incorporate it into my lasagne and soups, but I could really use some fresh ideas.

Thank you!

Stephanie

ETA: We will be away for a long weekend and I know the zucchini will be huge when we return. I prefer the petite zucchini but if I am going to grate them and include them in a recipe, how big is too big? I know the texture changes but I don't know how large is actually detrimental to the recipe or the nutritional value. Thanks to anyone who might have answers!

[jerigirl]

I got this out of "Quick Cooking" magazine a few years ago. I used to cut the recipe in half for me and my husband and it made two large portions for us.

Dilly Zucchini Casserole


1 cup biscuit/baking mix
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs. Dill weed
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 eggs, beaten
½ cup vegetable oil
3 cups chopped zucchini
1 large onion, chopped

In a bowl, combine biscuit mix, Parmesan cheese, dill, salt, and pepper. Add eggs and oil; mix well. Stir in zucchini and onion until blended. Pour into a greased 1 ½ qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Yields: 5 servings

[jgriffin]

pak

Grated zucchini (for breads) freezes really well; grate it, squeeze out the water, and bag it in convenient portions (eg 2 cups). I still have some from last summer I need to use up quickly before this year's batch arrives!

This is my favorite zucchini bread recipe:

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup tomato juice
4 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini, water squeezed out first

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease 2 9 x 5 bread pans.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, baking soda, and walnuts together. Set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, mix together the oil, tomato juice, eggs, and zucchini.
Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix until just blended.
Pour into loaf pans and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool and enjoy!

This freezes well. After the loaf has cooled, remove from pan, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then foil.

[kcimato]

This is very simple. Just cut the zucchini in slices. Then put some olive oil on some foil and put the zucchini on top. Then sprinkle some of Chef Paul Pruhomme's Vegetable Magic Seasoning on top and grill it.

Actually, any vegetable with this seasoning is good.

[bostonsmama]

Oh my gosh, I made the best soup last night. I didn't do the whole crostini and herbs part...although I did toast a small slice of sourdough bread and dolloped a bit of herbed goat cheese on top...but the whole bundled parsley is a bit much. I just added a pinch of basil and parsley (dried) at the end and left a few bits chunky. So delicious and so easy to make.

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
9 cups (1-inch) sliced zucchini (about 2 1/2 pounds)
5 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
16 (1/4-inch-thick) slices French bread baguette (about 4 ounces)
Cooking spray
1 garlic clove, halved
3/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper


Preparation
Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and minced garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add zucchini, broth, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until zucchini is very tender. Let stand 5 minutes.
Place half of the zucchini mixture in a blender; cover tightly, and process until smooth. Pour pureed zucchini mixture into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining zucchini mixture. Place pureed zucchini mixture in pan. Cook over low heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Keep warm.

Preheat oven to 400°.

Place bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Coat bread with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 5 minutes or until toasted. Rub bread with cut sides of garlic clove.

Place parsley, tarragon, and chives in a small bowl. Combine 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, juice, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Pour over parsley mixture; toss well.

Spoon 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls. Divide parsley mixture evenly over toasted bread slices. Top each serving with 2 bread slices. Serve immediately.

[s7714]

One of my favorites growing up was fried zucchini (obviously not the healthiest choice, but they were yummy!) We just sliced the zucchini up in rounds and flour dredged/fried them like you'd fry up green tomatoes.

ETA recipes (sorry, I didn't have time to do it yesterday!):

Zucchini Cookies
1 cup softened butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini
2/3 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy; add eggs one at a time and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients. Bake at 375º for 8-10 minutes. (NOTE: If the zucchini is really watery, squeeze a lot of the excess water out before mixing it in! I've also done 1 cup grated zucchini w/1 cup grated carrot mixed and those turned out pretty good. I usually split the flour and do 2 cups white and 2 cups whole wheat, but it does make the cookies heavier and less fluffy. I also add raisins, wheat germ, chocolate chips, etc. once in a while too depending on my mood.)

Here's another one I like:
Sausage Zucchini Boats
4 medium zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup water
1/2 pound bulk pork sausage or ground pork (I usually use turkey sausage though)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup finely crushed saltine crackers (14 crackers)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (2 ounces)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/4 tps. salt
1/4 tsp. dried tyme, crushed
1/8 tsp. garlic salt (I usually just use a couple cloves of fresh pressed garlic)
1/8 tsp. pepper
Paprika

Halve zucchini lengthwise. Scoop out pulp, leaving 1/4 inch shell. Chop enough pulp to make 1 cup; set aside. Place zucchini shells, cut side down, in large skillet; add water. cover and simmer about 3 minutes or just till tender; drain. Remove zucchini from skillet and turn cut side up. Sprinkle with a little salt. (Note: I usually just zap them in the microwave with the water until tender. It's also important not to over cook the shells in this step otherwise they'll get really over cooked and squishy by the time the whole dish is cooked!)

In skillet cook sausage and onion till meat is browned and onion is tender; drain off fat. Stir in reserved zucchini pulp and all remaining ingredients except paprika. Mix well. Spoon mixture into zucchini shells. Place shells in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake uncovered, in 350º oven for about 25 minutes or until heated through. Makes 4 servings.

HTH!
Jennifer
Mommy to
Miss Pure Energy 3/03
Miss Limit Tester 6/05

Our bones may be brittle, but our spirit is unbreakable.
Osteogenesis Imperfecta www.oif.org

[danagee]

These are my favorite meatballs. Make a double batch, one for the freezer. I got the recipe from Cooking Light Magazine.


Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup (2 ounces) finely shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup coarsely shredded carrot
1/4 cup coarsely shredded zucchini
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 large egg white
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Cooking spray


Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine all ingredients except cooking spray in a bowl; stir well. Shape mixture into 30 (1 1/2-inch) meatballs. Place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until done.

Yield
30 meatballs (serving size: 5 meatballs)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 228(29% from fat); FAT 7.3g (sat 3.1g,mono 1.8g,poly 1.4g); PROTEIN 30.3g; CHOLESTEROL 71mg; CALCIUM 166mg; SODIUM 399mg; FIBER 0.8g; IRON 2.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 8.5g





Dana
ds 8/04 * dd 1/06

[Mamma2004]

Thanks to everyone who has responded thus far. Please keep those recipes coming! I am eager to see the cookie recipe, too, Jennifer. That sounds great!

Stephanie

[bostonsmama]

Wow...just made another zucchini recipe this morning and it was oh-my-gosh good. Chewy, moist, flavorful and delicious w/out butter, plus they have less fat, oil and calories than reg zucchini bread. I did a few substitutions, but the gist is there. Recipe for Zucchini Bread from Cooking Light Magazine:

2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I added 1 Tbsp)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Vegetable cooking spray

***(I also added a pinch nutmeg and ginger as well as used Saigon Cinnamon. I subbed 2 eggs for the egg beaters and subbed 1/3 c of the white sugar with brown sugar for crunchy/glossy tops. And b/c I didn't have applesauce on hand, I grated 3/4cup of apple and added 3 Tbsp V8 for moisture...and it was still great!)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Place zucchini on several layers of paper towels, and cover with additional paper towel. Let stand 5 minutes, pressing down occasionally. Set aside.

Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (flour through baking powder) in a large bowl, and stir well; make a well in center of mixture. Combine zucchini, applesauce, egg substitute, oil, and vanilla; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Divide batter evenly between 2 (7 1/2 x 3-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack. ***OR spoon batter into 12 EXTRA LARGE greased muffin cups and bake 28-31 minutes at 350° (which is what I did).

Larissa

PS, I wouldn't let them grow past 12 inches long or else they'll be watery and sometimes bitter. I used a 10-inch zucchini today that made 2 1/4 c shredded zucchini, so it was big, but not overwhelming, and the flavor was perfect!

[alleyoop]

There are some good ones in this thread:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=179&topic_id=875&mesg_id=875&listing_type=search

Not to mention my Zsoup and Double Chocolate Zbread! :)

Edited to add: Don't put the nutmeg and cinnamon in the bread during the summer. It is really more of a Holiday thing.

[Mamma2004]

Thank you!!! I had already checked Eileen's amazingly extensive list and since it wasn't there, I wasn't sure where else to look. I did a search for just that thread and came up empty. I'm not sure what I did wrong but thanks so much for locating it for me.

Stephanie

[jgriffin]

nak

When I get giant zukes from my FIL I don't use the innermost part. I peel them and grate along the outside until I hit the seedy middle, which I toss. When they get really big they're only good for including with other stuff, not eating in pieces (kwim?) I also squeeze as much water out of them as possible before measuring.

[lhk777]

Here's a simple asian side dish that I always make - I will slice the zucchini into rounds/ovals, batter them (lightly coat in flour, then dip it in a beaten egg), and just pan fry them with some oil. You can eat them plain or dip them in some soy sauce.

-Linda