In this season of up-and-down temperatures, one summertime favorite has practically exploded out of the garden. Easy to grow and even easier to prepare, zucchini and its first cousin, yellow squash, are here and ready to be part of our summer cuisine.
All squash plants originated in the Americas and the zucchini is no exception. Visiting Europeans brought them home, where they were grown and cultivated; Italian farmers developed the zucchini we know today. By the 1920s, the zucchini found its way back across the Atlantic and into home gardens.
Zucchini grow so well here in Pennsylvania and New Jersey that many home gardeners quickly found they had more than they could eat. Americans are great innovators and home cooks are no exception. Today we stir-fry or bake zucchini to serve it fresh, as well as using it in salads, cupcakes, muffins, breads, fritters, soups, gratins and casseroles. It is also a good crudité that goes well with dips.
If you have freezer space and too much zucchini, it can be frozen by chopping it into slices, then steaming or boiling for about 3 minutes followed by a quick plunge into an ice-water bath before draining. It also can be grated, then frozen without blanching. Excess water can be drained out when you defrost it.
Placed in an airtight container, frozen zucchini is good for about a year. That means you can make zucchini dishes any time you like.
Zucchini contains valuable minerals including calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and plenty of potassium. They also offer vitamins including vitamins A, C, K, and folic acid as well as antioxidants.
Zucchini doesn’t have a strong taste, which is why it works well with cheese and onion in this simple recipe from tasteofhome.com.
3 eggs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup canola oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 cups sliced zucchini
1 cup biscuit/baking mix
1 small onion, chopped
In a large bowl, whisk together the first seven ingredients. Stir in the zucchini, baking mix and onion. Pour into a greased 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 35 minutes or until lightly browned.
If you don’t want to buy a box of biscuit mix, you can make it yourself with this recipe from allrecipes.com. Cut the recipe in half if you want less, but it works well as biscuits from scratch.
10 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup baking powder
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil
Step 1. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Add oil and mix with a fork or pastry blender; you should have small lumps throughout the mixture.
Step 2. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to three months.
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