Zucchini Soup: A Game-Changer

I've officially revoked my right to complain about an overabundance of zucchini. This soup is the culinary miracle I never knew I needed.

I stumbled upon this recipe in a classic, old-school magazine – you know, the kind that arrives in your mailbox and you actually hold in your hands. 

This zucchini soup is pure magic. It's incredibly easy to whip up, and the flavor? Let’s just say it’s a total knockout. I've tweaked the original recipe a bit. Trust me, your taste buds will thank you.

Ingredients-

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling

2 medium shallots, chopped

Kosher salt

1 c. low-sodium vegetable broth

1 lb. zucchini (about 2 medium), chopped

1/2 c. (or more) cold water

1/2 c. packed basil leaves, roughly chopped, plus small leaves for serving

1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper

Method-
In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat 1 tbsp. oil. 

Cook shallots, and 1/4 tsp. salt, stirring often, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. 

Add broth and bring to a simmer. 

Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

 
Transfer the shallot mixture to a blender. 

Add zucchini and cold water and process until smooth. 

Add basil, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 tbsp. oil, and 3/4 tsp. salt. 

Continue to blend until very smooth. 

Add up to 1/4 c. more cold water to loosen consistency, if desired.

Serve soup at room temperature or chilled. 

Ladle soup into bowls.

Season with several grinds of black pepper.

Zucchini Fritters

At work today my email was hacked. What a pain in the ass that was for the day. I needed something fried for dinner.

Zucchini Fritters. So easy to make and so delicious to eat.

One zucchini, chopped pretty small and one shallot also chopped small. 

Mix them in a bowl with 2 eggs, 1/4 cup of flour, 1/4 Parmesan Cheese, 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (or you can use dried parsley), salt, and pepper. 

The batter should be thick enough to drop spoonfuls.
Heat Vegetable oil, or whatever oil you like to use, in a large sauté pan 

Drop the batter into the hot oil by spoonfuls. 

Remove the fritters when they are browned on all sides to a dish lined with paper towels. 

Salt them immediately after they come out of the oil. 

To quote Alton Brown, "You only get one chance to do this." 

Serve immediately!

Spicy Pork with Zucchini and More

It's that time of year. My sister will stop by with quite a few zucchini. Chris will call and say he stopped by Cole's Farm stand to get corn, the best around, and also picked up some zucchini. There is no where to hide. It is Zucchini Time.

Sunday I spend a good part of the day making zucchini things.  Zucchini Patties, Zucchini and Corn Pie with Phyllo Dough Crust, Zucchini and Tomato Mini Tarts, Asian Tofu and Eggplant, the eggplant was from my sister.

Tonight we again used zucchini. Spicy Pork and Zucchini. This was something different for us. We loved it. Quick to prepare. One pan and one bowl to wash. 

We loved the spice. Just enough heat. And I didn't hear any groans about the zucchini

30 Minute Chicken with Zucchini and Orzo

I stood in front of the open fridge and said what the hell am I making for dinner.

Well, this was pretty darn good.

Chicken cutlets seasoned with salt and pepper on both sides.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan.

Add chicken. About 4 minutes per side.

Place chicken on a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add a touch more oil to the pan. 

Add diced shallots, sliced zucchini, and halved cherry tomatoes. The amounts depend on what you have in your fridge.

Sauté the vegetables for about 5 minutes until the veggies are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add white wine. Cook the wine down.

Add some tomato sauce and heavy cream.

Add chicken, along with the juices on the plate, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. A meat thermometer should read 165˚.

Serve on top of orzo. 

I topped the chicken with sliced Burrata Cheese and chopped basil.

Meanwhile the cats were asking me the question "So what are we having for dinner?"

Baked Zucchini Parmesan

Thank you Lenore for the Zucchini from the garden. 

I found a nice recipe on The Italian in My Kitchen site for Baked Zucchini Parmesan.
This was a perfect side dish with our steak tonight. I made it earlier in the day and just reheated it before dinner.

This is the recipe from An Italian in My Kitchen, minus the Pancetta from the original recipe.

Ingredients-
3 small tender zucchini
1½ teaspoons salt
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1½ cups shredded firm mozzarella
¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Method-
Pre-heat oven to 350°, lightly grease with olive oil a small to medium baking pan.

Shred the cheese and mix the parmesan cheese with the chopped parsley. Set aside.

Slice the zucchini lengthwise into strips that are not too thick. Place them in a large bowl and toss them with the salt. Let sit for 20 minutes then drain but do not rinse. Then paper towel dry the zucchini to remove as much excess moisture as possible. These steps are important because the salt and towel drying will draw out the excess liquid in the zucchini. That’s what keeps it from turning mushy in the oven.

Place the flour in a shallow dish and dredge each zucchini slice in it.

First, do an even layer of zucchini slices in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle 1/3 or 1/4 of the mozzarella (depending on how many layers you want to make) on top then finish with 1/3-1/4 of the grated parmesan, add another layer of each repeating this process until you’ve used up the ingredients.

Bake the casserole for about 25 minutes. Let it stand at room temperature for about five minutes before slicing and serving. 

 

Fettuccini alla Nerano

Yes, we tried the latest food craze. Fettuccini alla Nerano. And yes it is as delicious as everyone has said.

Back in 2018, I made a recipe for Zucchini Sauce. It quickly became my go-to recipe. Suddenly there was Fettuccini alla Nerano. The differences... hmmm. The zucchini is fried and refrigerated overnight... The pasta alla Nerano used both provolone and Parmigiana. That's all. The recipe I used in 2018 was from Bon Appetit.

If you have not seen the Stanley Tucci show, Searching For Italy, please watch it. It is a love letter to all things Italian. 

So here is how I made Fettuccini alla Nerano. Last night I fried the thinly sliced zucchini in safflower oil. And that was not easy to find!!! I got the last bottle at the store. I put the fried zucchini in a paper towel-lined bowl and sprinkled them with salt. Into the fridge they went until tonight.

At the start of the frying.

The end of the frying.

Tonight I started the pot of water for the homemade fettuccini. In a saute pan I heated some olive oil and added the zucchini.

I tossed in some diced prosciutto because I had it in the fridge. I added a knob of butter and once the pasta was dropped in the water I added a bit of the pasta water. You want to get a sauce-like consistency.

I cooked the pasta until almost al dente and added it to the saute pan to finish cooking. Some more pasta water was added to maintain the sauce-like consistency and then I added grated provolone and parmigiana. I tossed in some chopped basil and that was it.

And yes it was delicious. It was simple ingredients lifted to a stellar level. It was just zucchini and cheese. I might heat up a little for a late-night snack...

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Slow Cooker Short Ribs with Pasta and Fried Zucchini Salad

Today I was out with my sister, fabric shopping. I wanted dinner pretty much done by the time I got home. Slower cooker BBQ Ribs to the rescue!

I removed the membrane from the back of the ribs and rubbed them with a blend of Paprika, Ground Mustard powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Into the crockpot and poured 1 1/2 cups of BBQ Sauce. Our house favorite is Stubbs Original. Set it on low for 8 to 9 hours. 

After that remove the ribs from the crockpot and brush the with more Stubbs BBQ sauce. Put them under the broiler for 3-5 minutes until the BBQ sauce starts to bubble and carmelize. 

The pasta salad was made when I got home from shopping. My sister gave me some green beans and I used them in a new recipe I was trying from Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbook, Plenty.

I  used the green beans in place of the edamame.

Ingredients-

1/3 cup sunflower oil


1 medium zucchini cut in 1/4 inch slices (slightly diagonal)


3/4 tbsp red wine vinegar


3/4  cup edamame beans (frozen), or fresh green beans


1 cups basil leaves, coarsely chopped


2tbsp parsley leaves


2 1/2 tbsp olive oil


4 oz pasta (penne or strozzapreti)

Zest of 12 lemon

3/4 tbsps capers


4 oz buffalo mozzarella, torn into chunks

Method-

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

While you’re waiting, in a medium saucepan or skillet, heat sunflower oil over medium-high heat. 

Fry zucchini slices in batches for about 3 to 4 minutes, flipping once, until golden on both sides. 

Drain in a colander, shaking with a couple pinches of salt, then transfer to a large bowl and pour vinegar on top. Set aside.

In the hot water, cook edamame for 3 minutes, frozen peas for 3 to 4 minutes, or fresh peas for 1 to 2 minutes (to taste). Drain and run cool water over until lukewarm. Set aside to dry. 

Leave pot boiling, then cook pasta until al dente in it. Drain and rinse under cold water.

Combine half of the basil and all of the parsley and olive oil in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth, then season with salt and pepper.

Transfer pasta back to the empty pot. Add fried zucchini and any juices, basil-parsley oil, edamame or peas, lemon zest, capers, and mozzarella. 

Stir gently together, then season generously with salt and pepper. 

Right before you serve it, stir in remaining basil leaves

 

Uncle Art's Recipe for Fried Squash Flowers

Today I had a much-needed vacation day. I went fabric shopping with my sister Lenore. She came over with a beautiful bouquet of squash flowers from her garden.

When Chris and I were first married I worked as manager of an ice cream store that was very close to where my Godparents lived. Once and a while I would get a call my Godfather, Uncle Art, asking if I could stop by on my way home from work. He had something for me. I love my Aunt and Uncle and I would do anything they asked of me. I would pull up to the house and my Uncle would pop out of the kitchen and give me a greasy paper bag. It was filled with Fried Squash Flowers. Oh, the aroma! Oh, the grease! I would eat the whole bag while I drove home. Ah, memories.

Fortunately, I had asked my Uncle for his recipe. Here it is-

 

The batter-

 The flowers ready for the batter, remember to remove the piston.

 Frying-

 Sprinkle with salt as soon as you remove the flowers from the oil!!!!!

This was a perfect vacation day dinner! 

Yes, that is fresh corn on the cob from Cole's Farm Stand!

Not Grilled Pork Chops and Zucchini Fritters

The weather changed tonight's dinner from the grill to the oven. I do think the pork would have tasted better on the grill but the meat was flavorful and tender. I marinated the pork chops in 2 tsp of olive oil, 1 tsp of dijon mustard, 2 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp of brown sugar, and salt and pepper. 30 minutes in a 375-degree oven and it was perfect!

Now about those Zucchini Fritters. They were a hit! One zucchini chopped pretty small and one shallot also chopped small. Let's say minced for both. Mix them in a bowl with 2 eggs, 1/4 cup of flour, 1/4 Parmesan Cheese, 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (or you can use dried parsley), salt, and pepper. The batter should be thick enough to drop spoonfuls.

Heat Vegetable oil, or whatever oil you like to use, in a large sauté pan and heat the oil. Drop the batter into the hot oil by spoonfuls. Remove the fritters when they are browned on all sides to a dish lined with paper towels. Salt them immediately after they come out of the oil. To quote Alton Brown, "You only get one chance to do this." Serve immediately!

Chicken Parmesan

A damn good dinner if I do say so myself. 

I had taken the prepared Chicken Cutlets out of the freezer this morning along with a small container of "The Sauce". The dish was assembled and heated in the oven for about 25 minutes at 375˚. The chicken was perfectly moist. The breading was crispy and the sauce, well that is always spot on.

I also had some zucchini fritters in the freezer. They were the perfect side dish. The recipe is an oldie from the Martha Steward Magazine. I think I first saw it in the '90s. Luckily I found it online.

When There is Zucchini- Frittelle di Pasta Cresciuta Con Zucchine

Frittelle di Pasta Cresciuta Con Zucchine. This recipe is from Memorie di Angelina. This is one of my favorite blogs. The recipes remind me of my Mom's cooking.

Oh, I just love this recipe. Chris loves this recipe. The result is small balls of fried bread with zucchini. Real easy, you do need to let the dough rise. The zucchini was from my sister's garden. More zucchini recipes to come later this week.

I think this might be a good Christmas Day appetizer...

Click here for the recipe.

This Is My Favorite Summer Pasta Recipe

Okay, I LOVE this recipe. It is so flexible. I made a couple of changes from the last time I made it. That is what makes this the perfect recipe. Instead of Pancetta I used Andouille sausage and omitted the lemon. I had the homemade pasta in the freezer. Just perfect. Chris loved this. It was just spicy enough. Just remember NOT to toss the pasta water. You will need it for your sauce.

Ingredients-
¼ cup olive oil
2 pounds assorted summer squashes and zucchini, quartered lengthwise, sliced
Kosher salt
1 diced Andouille sausage
12 ounces ziti, or other large tube pasta
2 ounces Parmesan, grated (about ½ cup), plus more for serving
½ cup basil leaves

Method-
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Add squash; season with salt. Add the Andouille sausage. Cook, tossing occasionally, until squash begins to break down and gets jammy (they may start to stick to the skillet a bit, which means you are there!), 12–15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente.
Transfer pasta to skillet using a slotted spoon or spider and add ½ cup pasta cooking liquid. Cook pasta, adding 2 oz. Parmesan in stages along with more pasta cooking liquid as needed, until sauce coats pasta and pasta is al dente. Toss in lemon juice and most of the basil.
Divide pasta among bowls and top with more Parmesan and remaining basil.

Zucchini, Onion, Pancetta and Pappardella

I'm back! I can not tell you how good it is to be back in the kitchen. Taking it kind of slow. The doctor gave me the okay to be on my foot, of course keeping the boot on. Today I took stock of what was in the fridge. There was zucchini and yellow squash that inspired tonight's dinner. This afternoon I made the Papardella noodles using the Tide and Thyme recipe.

I cooked up some pancetta and then sauteed sliced onions until tender. The zucchini and yellow squash were sliced with the a handheld slicer and then sliced to match the width of the pasta. The zucchini and squash were added to the pan along with a knob of butter and some salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. They were cooked until tender.

The pasta was cooked in salted water. I reserved 1/2 cup of the pasta water. When the noodles were just about done, I added them to the saute pan to finish cooking. Another knob of butter and chopped herbs from the deck, basil, parsley and lemon thyme were added to the pan along with the reserved water. I let it simmer for a couple of minutes and then it went to the table.

It was delicious. And it gave Chris a well deserved break from getting dinner on the table. 

Chicken, Zucchini and Prosciutto

Crispy Prosciutto! In this recipe you crisp up the Prosciutto in a skillet in a little olive oil. Talk about love at first bite, yeah the chicken and zucchini were good but the Prosciutto well fahgettaboudit!
But back to the other 2 components of this meal. Yes the chicken was super moist. And I loved the flavor of the lemon which is added at the end. It was a very light & easy meal.

Chicken, Zucchini and Prosciutto, from RealSimple.com

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 pound (about 8 slices) prosciutto
3 small zucchini, thinly sliced into half-moons
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1 lemon

Heat oven to 400° F. Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 2 minutes per side.
Transfer the chicken to the oven and roast for 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a second skillet, over medium heat, heat the remaining oil. Cook the prosciutto until crisp, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
Add the zucchini, garlic, and remaining salt and pepper to the skillet and cook until tender, about 3 minutes.
Add the prosciutto and zucchini mixture to the skillet with the chicken, squeeze the lemon over the top, and toss. Divide among the plates.

Spare Ribs and Chicken Bake & Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

One of my favorite blogs to read is the Living The Gourmet. Gosh I wish she lived on my street. I found tonight's recipe on her blog the other day and had to try it. Quite delicious was the review from Chris. I let the meat sit in the marinade for a day and a half. It was so easy to prepare.

Here is the recipe with my changes, yeah I did not use garlic!

Ingredients -

6 pork spare ribs

4 chicken legs and thighs

1/2 cup apple juice

2 tbs. maple syrup

1 tbs. soy sauce

1 tbs. olive oil

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

 

Method -

Combine all of the above in in a zip-lock freezer bag and mix well.

Place in the refrigerator for at least one to two hours or up to over night.

Preheat Oven 400 degrees. Put all the ingredients in 2 baking pans lined with foil.  Place in oven and bake for approximate 90 minutes.

Remove from oven and let sit for a minute.

For side dishes I made my favorite roasted potatoes and I tried something new, Zucchini Parmesan Crisps. Again I found the recipe online, I think it was facebook. I copied it into the text edit and of course did not note who posted it. Sorry! They were nice. Definitely will make these again.

Ingredients -
1/2 lb. zucchini (about 1 medium-sized)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan (heaping)
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs (heaping)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste



Method -
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil and spray lightly with vegetable spray. Slice zucchini or squash into 1/4 inch-thick rounds. Toss rounds with oil, coating well.
In a wide bowl or plate, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper.
Place rounds in Parmesan-breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides of each round, pressing to adhere. The mixture will not completely cover each round, but provides a light coating on each side.
Place rounds in a single layer on baking sheets. Sprinkle any remaining breadcrumb mixture over the rounds.
Bake for about 22 to 27 minutes, until golden brown. (There is no need to flip them during baking -- they crisp up on both sides as is.)

The Porterhouse Steak

 

If I am going to eat meat this is the cut of meat I prefer. The Porterhouse Steak. It is like 2 steaks wrapped in one.

 The Porterhouse is kind of a composite steak coming from the point where the tenderloin and top loin meet. Basically an over-sized T-Bone steak the porterhouse is thicker cut and has much more of the tenderloin relative to the loin portion. If you remove the bone and cut out the two steaks that basically make up this steak you will get a tenderloin steak and a top loin (or New York Strip Steak). So if you are ordering a Porterhouse, I hope you're hungry.

– from About Barbecues and Grilling 

Chris used a dry rub consisting of coriander seed,salt, ground mustard, fennel seed, paprika, black pepper and chili powder.

The steaks were grilled perfectly.

For side dishes we had grilled potatoes and new zucchini recipe, always need new zucchini recipes!

I found this on Cookstr. It is from Sarah Leah Chase's book, Nantucket Open-House Cookbook.

Summer Squash Casserole, adapted from Sarah Leah Chase's recipe.

Ingredients -
1 tablespoons olive oil
5 medium zucchini, sliced ¼ inch thick
1 medium red onions, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Thyme and Pasley
5 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
4 ounces Swiss cheese, sliced ¼ inch thick

Method -
Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Brush a 7-inch round soufflé dish with the oil. Arrange a layer of summer squash slices evenly in the bottom of the casserole. Top with a layer of onion and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and herbs. Dot with Cheddar cheese and Swiss Cheese. Repeat the layers. Finish with a layer of cheese. Cover the casserole with aluminum foil.

Bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the squash is tender and the cheese is bubbly and browned, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

And I made a new appetizer recipe.  Balsamic Glazed Mortadella Bites, which I found on Italian Food Forever. I have always liked Mortadella. This is a super easy appetizer.

Balsamic Glazed Mortadella Bites, from Italian Food Forever.

Ingredients -
1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/3 Pound Mortadella Salami, Rind Removed & Cut Into 1 1/2 Inch Cubes
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

Method -
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until smoking. Add the mortadella cubes, and cook, tossing the cubes often, until they are lightly browned on all sides. Add the balsamic vinegar and toss to coat. Cook for another minute or two until the vinegar thickens and coats the meat. Serve immediately.