Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Zucchini grows up to prime time

Marketplace \| Services \| Contact Us \| Community \| Arts & Entertainment \| Local Guides

Published by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. CLICK FOR NEWSPAPER DELIVERY

Wednesday, August 1, 2001
Zucchini grows up to prime time
Grill it or bake it, but don't boil it; ugly-duckling no longer the butt of jokes
By Joyce Rosencrans
Scripps Howard News Service

Scripps Howard News Service

Zucchini is the green vegetable capable of a variety of recipes.

It's not good politics to become the butt of jokes. But ever since Chevy Chase hurt his back doing pratfalls imitating Gerald Ford every Saturday night in the '70s, zucchini's reputation likewise took a dive.
   Gardeners who allowed the slender, dark-green cylinders to stay on the vine too long - like overnight - had to cope with squash ball-bats. The zucchinis would become that big, definitely an embarrassment and of no particular use to cooks, although some pre-K kids used them for show-and-tell. "Look what my Daddy grew in our back yard!"
   Called squash
   For a vegetable trying to break into prime time, from the relative obscurity of an Italian greengrocer to the spotlight of a mega-supermarket, it was tough being green and something called "squash." Cooks at the time didn't know what to do with it. People would trade zucchini recipes while standing in checkout lines. They knew boiling this mild vegetable was bad news, so the talk was about sauteing zucchini slices in olive oil with a shower of minced garlic and Italian herbs.
   Three decades later, a bunch of zucchini halves now end up in grill baskets in a mix of summer vegetables. It's no longer novel not to be boiling vegetables. Who would ever think to start with mere water these days?
   A good zucchini recipe is a rare gem. The zucchini lemon loaf is a refreshing change from the old standard zucchini-cinnamon loaf. This citrus version makes fantastic tea sandwiches spread with cream cheese, definitely a comely companion to lemonade or iced tea for porch and patio service.
   LEMON ZUCCHINI BREAD
   1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
   2 teaspoons baking powder
   ½ teaspoon baking soda
   ½ teaspoon salt
   ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
   ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
   Scant ½ cup vegetable oil
   1 cup sugar
   2 eggs
   Grated peel of 1 lemon
   ½ teaspoon orange extract (or grated peel)
   1 cup grated zucchini, drained
   ½ cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted
   Yield: 1 9x5-inch loaf
   Sift together the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside. Scrub the zucchini, trim ends, then finely shred using a box grater or food processor disk. Pack firmly into a cup-measure and tip to drain.
   Have oven heating to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with shortening on a brush or paper towel.
   In a large mixing bowl, beat by hand the sugar, oil, eggs, grated lemon rind and orange extract (or freshly grated orange rind). Add dry ingredients alternately with the shredded zucchini. Fold in the nuts and mix without overbeating. Turn the thick batter into the greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until loaf tests done with a long pick. Cool bread in pan 10 minutes; turn out and cool completely. Wrap well and wait a day to slice bread thinly. Good served as chilled tea sandwiches spread with softened cream cheese.
   SCRAMBLED ZUCCHINI JOES
   ¾ pound ground beef or turkey
   1 large onion, coarsely chopped
   ¼ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
   4 medium zucchini, diced
   Garlic salt
   Italian herb seasoning
   Hot sauce, as desired
   4 eggs
   Grated Parmesan cheese
   Focaccia, buns or toasted garlic bread
   Bottled marinara sauce, optional
   Yield: 6 servings
   Prep time: 30 minutes
   Cook meat in a nonstick skillet or one sprayed with a nonstick oil-spray product. Break meat apart and cook until the red color is out. Add the onion, mushrooms and rather finely diced zucchini. Saute a couple of minutes, stirring often, then cover and cook just until the onion is tender. Drain very well. Sprinkle with garlic salt, add pinches of the Italian herbs and dash in hot sauce. Stir well.
   Just before serving, break eggs into a medium bowl and whisk to blend. Pour over the meat mixture over low heat and cook until softly set, moving mixture around with a broad spatula, until eggs coat the meat and vegetables. Spoon into buns, between pieces of flatbread (focaccia) or spoon over a slice or two of toasted garlic bread and serve as fork-food instead of as a sandwich. If desired, top meat mixture with grated Parmesan and marinara sauce.
   Variation: Spoon zucchini-meat mixture over brown rice or rice-shaped pasta (orzo) and top with Parmesan and microwaved



Share recipe ideas and cooking tips in the Recipe forum. (Registration required, but it is free.)

The healing cook
Cookbook author Nina Simonds thinks that our healthy foods should also taste delicious.

Divine Cakes
Create new exciting desserts, plus tips on making great birthday cakes from scratch.

Rethinking Pork
Think you know all about pork. Think again. Plus great tips on creating Creme Brulee.

Baklava
The word alone sounds gooey, delicious and mysterious as it dances across your tongue.

| Talk about this story | Next Story | Home |

[ Printer-friendly version ]
[ Subscribe to newspaper ]

SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND