It’s that time of year! We only have 1 zucchini plant (the squash bugs made quick work of the other one) and I’m a bit overwhelmed with the number of zucchinis we have. I’ve made regular and chocolate zucchini bread for the kids, made zoodles and zucchini lasagna, sauteed, roasted and grilled it. And there’s still more! In an effort to not let any go to waste I’ve resorted to freezing some to use later in soups and smoothies. If you need some ideas for how to use your abundance:
- Freezing: chop it into whatever size you want, blanch it in boiling water for 45-60s, remove it and put it directly into an ice bath to stop the cooking.
- Blanching and the ice bath help the zucchini hold some shape and avoid becoming a mushy mess as it thaws. Spread zucchini pieces on a cookie sheet (if you have a silpat sheet put that under them to make it even easier to remove them later). Put in the freezer and allow to freeze solid. Then package it up for later use. If you skip the first freeze you’ll end up with a big chunk of veggie that’s really difficult to use. Chunks of frozen zucchini can be popped into a smoothie…it adds some veggie and you can’t taste it. I’m saving smaller pieces for one of our favorite winter soups (we usually swap the green beans for zucchini and pasta for white beans): https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/minestrone-soup-recipe-1973378
- Zoodles! If you have a zoodler, it’s super fast. We tried a handheld one and thought it was cumbersome. This is what I use, but there are plenty out there to choose from. If you want to try making ‘noodles’ from firmer veggies, like sweet potatoes, make sure you pick a sturdy version as they much firmer.I have to be honest, we typically use 1 blade…no need to spend extra for a bunch of different ones.If you don’t have a zoodler, you can make them with a potato peeler…just takes a little longer. To cook zoodles, pop in boiling water for 1 minute…that’s it! If you’re adding them to pasta you can put them in the pot for the last minute of cooking. https://amzn.to/2OVrnd6
- Zucchini fritters. Be careful here…some recipes are just a bunch of cheese, butter and flour with a splash of zucchini tossed in. This recipes looks delicious! If you don’t have coconut flour it can be swapped for regular wheat, but you may need a bit more as coconut flour is extremely absorbent. Arrowroot powder can be swapped for corn starch. https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/bacon-zucchini-fritters-paleo-whole30/
- Zucchini bread, of course. I have a herd of growing, hungry kids so we keep a supply of zucchini muffins around for them and their friends. However, I do try to find a happy compromise with the sugar content. Go too low and no one eats them. Go too high and they LOVE them…but I cringe. Here’s what works for us. Use chocolate chips if you want. If you’d like chocolate bread you can sub 1/2c coco powder for a 1/2c of the flour. No coconut oil? Butter is just fine. The banana in this one helps cut down on the refined sugar. https://www.wellplated.com/healthy-zucchini-muffins/
- Grilled…toss slices with a bit of olive oil and season with salt/pepper or whatever spices sound good that day. Place on a hot grill until grill marks appear on the zucchini, then flip and let grill marks cook on that side as well. Done!
- Raw…let’s keep it really simple! Just cut a zucchini up into strips and serve with hummus or salsa.
