Sunday, July 01, 2007

Shredded Zucchini

I checked out for while, in case no one noticed. I haven't been cooking that much lately, and haven't felt much like writing about what I have been cooking. But it's a new day in a new month, and I have hopes of returning to regular posting and I have to start somewhere, so I will start with this post that I started last month.

I've been happily making use of my za'atar, most notably recently as a seasoning for this lamb chop (no, not the George Foreman Grill lamb chop). This was cooked the good old-fashioned way, in the broiler. It was quite delicious.

While I usually add rosemary to my roasted new potatoes with garlic and olive oil, for this meal I added marjoram because there's marjoram in the za'atar and I thought that it would complement the lamb nicely. It did.

But I wasn't sure what to do about the vegetable. I had some zucchini about to go bad in the refrigerator, but I didn't know what to do with it. I always have such high hopes for zucchini at the grocery store, when I see them all fresh and deeply green. And I love to eat zucchini. I just don't know how to cook them. They have a high water content, which means they turn from raw to mush in a matter of seconds, and I hate them mushy.

I leafed through some of my vegetable cookbooks and came across this recipe for Shredded Zucchini, which the author said was a good method when you did not have enough time to salt and drain them (!). I had neither the time nor the inclination, so I decided to try this recipe. It was a little messy and I am compulsive enough that I never quite trusted that I had squeezed out enough liquid so I kept squeezing and squeezing until I could feel the little shreds turn to mush between my fingers, but overall the recipe was a success.

I did not have fresh herbs so I used dried, which was ok, but I think this dish would become spectacular in the summer prepared with fresh herbs.
Home Cookin Chapter: Beans and Vegetables

Shredded Zucchini

4 medium zucchini (about 1-1/2 lbs.)
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 to 2 Tbsp minced fresh herb leaves
salt
freshly ground black pepper

from Vegetables Every Day, by Jack Bishop (HarperCollins, 2001)
.
Trim the ends from the zucchini. Shred the zucchini using the large
holes on a box grater or the shredding disk of a food processor. Wrap
the shredded zucchini in several layers of paper towels or in a kitchen
towel and squeeze gently. Continue squeezing, using new towels if
necessary, until the zucchini is fairly dry.

Heat the oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the
zucchini and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini
is tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in the herb and salt and pepper to
taste.

Serve immediately.

Servings: 4

Exported from Home Cookin 5.5 (www.mountain-software.com)

5 comments:

Jen said...

Yea, you're back!! I am a big fan of sauteing zucchini and yellow squash in a little olive oil, some garlic, and basil (or other herb) until it is nice and tender yet still firm. It's our favorite way to eat it.

Jen said...

Whoops, forgot to mention that I cut them into 1/2 cm "coins" with the skin on.

dejamo said...

Thanks Jen, it's good to be back. That sounds like a tasty way to cook zucchini and summer squash. How many squash do you cook at a time? I think one of the reasons that I have so much trouble getting them done without having them turn to mush is that I try to cook too much of it at once, so by the time the last of them is done, the first are beyond all hope.

Jen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jen said...

I just made some for dinner tonight. Heat up a little oil, not too much or it sucks it all up. Cook on med-high heat for about 3 minutes stirring constantly. You want it to be tender, yet firm and a little bit browned.

It is also great with a protein and a bunch of other veggies stir fried in Kung Pao sauce.

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