Recipes for zucchini

I can't just leave my last post sitting there so gloomy - I'll add a couple of recipes as a reminder of my successful summer harvest.

What is one thing most vegetable gardeners inevitably start wishing will disappear in the middle of the night? Zucchini! I love zucchini but meal after meal of grilled, sauteed and sweet loaves of zucchini I'm probably like most and think, enough already. But I have a couple of zucchini recipes in my hip pocket to help you stay motivated to cook with zucchini all the way through the bountiful summer.

All of the recipes I've included here are from Greece. It is just one of those places that is magical in every way (except financially). I went there a few years ago and came back with a few recipes from the locals. Here are a couple of them that include our beloved zucchini.

Herbed Zucchini Pie
This recipe is good for those zucchinis that were hiding under the big canopy of leaves because the bigger zucchinis are best for this one. You need a lot of the squash!

3 lbs (yes 3 pounds) zucchini
Salt
4 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil (I have a new favorite olive oil - I really mean it! If you can find it in your town it's called California Olive Ranch and it's delicious.)
2 onions, diced
6 squash blossoms finely chopped or you can replace this with some shredded carrot
1 cup dill (you can use fennel too if you'd like), finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint finely chopped
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
6 Sprigs fresh oregano, leaves finely chopped
1 1/2 - 2 cups crumbled feta
2 eggs, beaten
Fresh ground pepper and salt to taste
Olive Oil Pie Crust (recipe follows)

First, read the recipe for the crust before you start anything. The crust needs to rest for at least an hour so do that right off the bat.

Grate the zucchini in the larger round holes of a box grater or if you have it it's great to use the grater in the food processor. Place the grated zucchini in a huge colander, salt generously and let drain. It helps if you squeeze the juice out occasionally but you will need to let it drain no matter what for an hour. All of the zucchini will melt down to a more appetizing amount. When I made this the first time, the huge vat of shredded zucchini was making me feel sick. Make sure you've squeezed out all of the moisture or else you will get a soupy and soggy pie. Set aside.

Heat the oven to 350. In a large skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft about 9 minutes. Add the onions to the zucchini (not the other way around). Stir in a tablespoon of olive oil, squash blossoms/carrot, herbs, feta, eggs, pepper and seasoning to taste.

(see the recipe for the olive oil crust down below and then resume the recipe)

After you've placed the filling in the pie and finished up your beautiful pie crust edges and vent holes, brush the top with olive oil and bake for 1 hour or until the pastry is golden. Let the pie cool a bit and then serve in wedges.


Olive Oil Pie Crust
Flour - 2 1/4 cups all-purpose; or 1 1/4 cups all-purpose + 1 cup whole wheat
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
3/4 cup water

Mix ingredients together with a fork until it just comes together. Don't over work the dough. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and kneed until smooth but no longer than a minute. Form into a ball and divide in two. Dust with flour, wrap with plastic tightly and place it in a plastic bag. Refrigerate for an hour and up to 3 days.

Roll out the dough into two 12-inch rounds (dust with flour as needed).

Because this is not a "short" crust (meaning it doesn't use shortening or butter), you will need to lightly oil or spray your pie dish. Place one of the crusts in the dish and then the zucchini filling and then then place the last crust on top. Pinch the edges together, make vent slits in the top crust. Baking instructions follow the previous recipe (or just follow the baking instructions of what ever recipe you are following).

OK one more recipe that uses up a lot of poundage of zucchini.

Zucchini Fritters
I like to serve these with homemade tzatziki or just plain Greek yogurt.

2 1/2 cups (probably you will need 2 lbs) zucchini grated and all of the juice squeezed out or they won't fry up crisp
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced onion
4 eggs
1/4 cup herbs (I think it's best with dill but you can add in some mint or fennel)
1 tablespoon cumin, ground
2 cups bread crumbs
2 cups flour
1 cup feta, crumbled
Pepper (you probably won't need salt because of the feta)
Oil for frying (Be careful with this one. Using extra virgin olive oil isn't a good idea because it smokes so please use an oil appropriate for frying such as pure olive oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, etc.)
All-purpose flour for dredging

After squeezing the bejeezus out of the zucchini, you will mix all of the ingredients together except for the flour. If you can make a nice 2-inch patty out of the mixture and it stays together then it is the right consistency. If it falls apart then add more bread crumbs or some flour. After you find the correct consistency, place the mixture in the refrigerator for an hour (to be honest, I don't always do this because sometimes I'm just plain starving). However, it's best do do this because you can pour off the liquid that seeps out of the mixture.

Heat about 1 inch deep of oil in a frying pan. While the oil is heating, either make balls or patties with the mixture and then dredge in flour. When the oil has a sheen to it or reaches about 275 degrees (if you want to be precise about it), take a small scrap of mixture and test it in the oil. If it sizzles and browns up nicely then you're ready to get frying. Fry up the fritters in batches until golden brown and place the removed fritters on a paper towel to remove excess oil.


See, that zucchini stuff is really useful. Don't give it all away! And as a side note, I've been told that the big scary zucchinis make for great fritters. The water content is lower and the more developed seeds add nice texture.

Daphne