Zucchini Pancakes

Lately I've seen recipes for zucchini pancakes everywhere, so we decided to try them tonight. Yum! They could easily fit into a breakfast or dinner menu! This recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens, July 2007.


5 cups shredded zucchini
3/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 TBSP finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp. black pepper
sour cream (optional)

1. Toss zucchini with salt. Place in colander and let sit for 15 minutes with a plate or something putting weight on it. After the 15 minutes, squeeze as much liquid out as you humanly can.
2. In a bowl beat eggs and garlic. Stir in flour, cheese, onion, and pepper just until moistened (batter will be lumpy). Stir in zucchini just until combined.
3. For each pancake, spoon 1 heaping TBSP batter on hot lightly oiled griddle or skillet, spread to 3-inch circle. Cook over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until pancake is golden brown.
4. Serve topped with sour cream or plain. Or cool, layer in freezer container with waxed paper, and freeze up to 3 months.
5. To reheat, preheat oven to 425. Place frozen pancakes in single layer on greased baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, 8 to 10 minutes or until hot and slightly crisp.

Zucchini-Tomato Gratin

Momma Mia! You'll love this vegetable dish that tastes like it came straight from Italy!
taken from Vegetarian Time, July/August 2009

1 1/2 lb. tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 medium zucchini (1 lb.), cut into 1/8-inch-thick diagonal slices
1 TBSP plus 1 tsp. olive oil, divided
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 TBSP roughly chopped kalamata olives
1/4 cup thinly sliced basil leaves
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1. Drape tomato slices over colander, sprinkle with salt, and let drain 45 minutes.
2. Spread zucchini on baking sheet, and sprinkle with salt. Let stand 30 minutes to sweat out excess moisture. Rinse well, and pat dry.
3. Preheat oven to 375. Heat 1 tsp. oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Saute zucchini 3 to 4 minutes or until golden. Transfer to plate. Do this in 2 batches if necessary, adding more oil between batches.
4. Layer half of zucchini slices in 8-inch-square baking pan. Top with half of tomatoes. Sprinkle with half of garlic, 1 Tbs. olives, half of basil, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese; season with freshly ground black pepper. Repeat with remaining zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, olives, and basil. Drizzle top with 1 TBSP oil, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Cover with foil, and bake 10 minutes. Remove foil, and bake 20 minutes more or until cheese is melted and gratin is bubbling. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Note: We made this without the olives.

Ratatouille

And you thought Pixar coined the phrase! This is actually a Mediterranean dish featuring eggplant, summer squash and tomatoes. We have been enjoying using our steady stream of CSA summer squash and zucchini for this dish ~ I use about 4-5 cups of both instead of the eggplant. It is delicious served hot or cold (perfect for eating those leftovers!)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 TBSP olive oil

3 cups cubed, peeled eggplant

1 medium zucchini or yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 1&1/2 cups)

1 Cup chopped peeled tomatoes (or one 7&1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained)

3/4 cup chopped green sweet pepper (1 medium)

3 TBSP dry white wine

1 TBSP snipped fresh basil

1. In a large skillet cook onion and garlic in hot oil over medium heat until tender. Stir in eggplant, zucchini or summer squash, tomatoes, sweet pepper, wine, dash of salt and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered over medium-low heat about 10 minutes or until veggies are tender. Uncover and cook about 5 minutes more or until most of the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally. Stir in basil.
2. I serve this over a bed of quinoa (couscous would probably be good too!). After dinner I stir the leftover pasta and ratatouille together, and we enjoy the next day served cold.

zucchini bread

"more bikini bread please" dillon thomas, age 3.

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

sift together:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. cinnamon

2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini squash)

large crystal sugar for top, if desired.

preheat oven to 325. beat eggs until foamy, about 1 min. mix in oil, white sugar, and vanilla. mix well. add sifted dry ingredients in 2 batches, mixing until just mixed. fold in zucchini. pour batter into 2 greased 3 X 7 (or larger) loaf pans. sprinkle large crystal sugar on top, if using. bake for 45-50 minutes.