Let me count the ways
Who among us has not received a large zucchini from a neighbouring gardener, at the end of the summer? I was gifted a two-pound, 11.8-ounce monster in early September. It sat on the middle shelf of the fridge for three weeks before I could get to it during the busy harvest season. The problem with a very large zucchini is that it has grown tougher with age and cooks up best if grated into breads or muffins, or is chopped into a relish.
When at last I could turn my attention to cooking my monster, I was tired of chopping, pickling and canning and wanted nothing to do with more relish. So, I turned to the easiest solutions: muffins and fritters. Both can be frozen to be enjoyed later, say in November, when we’re already missing fresh produce from our gardens and look back with longing on the abundance of summer. https://www.giallozafferano.com/recipes/zucchini-parmesan.html
Yield: 20
How To Cook a Large Zucchini: Let me count the ways
Ingredients
- Zucchini Fritters
- It’s funny how we all gravitate towards the same recipes when there is an abundance of zucchini. As with zucchini muffins, zucchini fritter recipes abound in the ether and in cookbooks; you will find zucchini fritters with a Greek twist, a Sunday-morning waffle angle, or a keep-it-simple five-ingredient approach. This recipe, again, is a mix-and-match effort—a bit of feta, a touch of cornmeal for crunch, fresh or dried Mediterranean herbs (in case you’ve got some hanging around). Tip: the trick with fritters is to add enough binding, such as flour, breadcrumbs or cornmeal, to hold them together without making them stodgy. It’s a moving target.
- *This recipe used an additional 13 oz. of my monster, leaving me with 24 oz. or 1.5 pounds, which I will turn into Zucchini Parmigiana. To be continued.
- Ingredients
- 4 cups grated zucchini (about 12–13 oz.)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 small onion, minced
- A handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped (dill would work well, too, but don’t sweat it if you can’t find fresh herbs)
- 1 Tbsp of dried mint
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp cornmeal
- 4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 Tbsp to 1/4 cup olive oil, for frying
- Zucchini Muffins
- There are so many recipes for zucchini muffins—pick a card, any card! This one is an amalgam of several. I added wild blueberries and walnuts, but you could throw in low-bush cranberries, raisins, pumpkin seeds or almonds. Zucchini muffins are a blank canvas, ready for anything. *This recipe used 6 oz. of my green monster.
- Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour or 1 cup all-purpose, 3/4 cup whole wheat
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup melted butter, or vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp milk or yogurt
- 2 cups grated zucchini
- 1 cup wild blueberries
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
Zucchini Fritters Instructions
- Grate zucchini on the large holes of a box grater, into a colander set over a plate. Toss with salt and let sit for 10 minutes. Pile zucchini onto a damp tea cloth or a piece of cheesecloth, gather the corners together and twist, squeezing out as much juice as possible. Place zucchini in a medium-sized bowl.
- Add onion, chopped fresh herbs, if using, and dried mint, and mix with a fork. Add egg and stir to combine, lifting with the fork to distribute evenly.
- Sprinkle flour and cornmeal overtop and mix thoroughly, breaking up any clumps with the fork.
- Stir in crumbled feta cheese, tossing to mix evenly.
- Set a frying pan on the burner over medium heat, add oil, and heat until it shimmers. Form small patties of zucchini mix and fry in batches, cooking for 4 minutes on the first side, 3 to 4 on the flip side. Add oil to the pan as necessary.
- Drain fritters on a baking sheet lined with paper towel and keep warm in the oven until all the fritters are cooked.
- Serve with sour cream or yogurt, or a simple salsa verde made with the last of the summer herbs.
Zucchini Muffins Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 12-cup muffin tin, or line with paper muffin cups.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a large bowl.
- Pour the melted butter or oil into a medium-sized bowl. Whisk in brown and white sugar, followed by the eggs, vanilla and milk or yogurt.
- Stir in grated zucchini. Add the zucchini mixture to the flour mixture and combine in a few swift strokes. Stir in blueberries and walnuts.
- Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups, filling them to the top.
- Place tin in the oven on the middle rack. Bake for 30 minutes, until muffin tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool on a rack for 10 minutes before removing muffins from tin. Serve warm or at room temperature, with butter, cream cheese, jam—whatever inspires. Store in the bread box for two days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
