The humble zucchini. It’s a summer vegetable that we all know. If you’re like us, your go-to way to cook this fruit might be a in a simple saute, a way to quickly get something vegetable on the table. And as satisfying as a simple zucchini saute might be, we know that this preparation, just like the week after week appearance of zucchini in your CSA box, might get a little boring. Bland? Boring and bland? After all, zucchini is a vegetable that we all grew up eating. It’s not as novel or exciting as a bunch of purple amaranth or as exotic as graffiti eggplant. Today we’re here to re-introduce you to zucchini. The star of summer, the cucurbit queen, a versatile vegetable which can sneak its way into so many recipes. Compost your preconceived notions of how bland and boring zucchini is, and read on.

Hankering for some zucchini? We've got a few. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

 

We got to thinking about zucchini because of this one recipe that, in the words of our Social Media Manager, Hector, “made the rounds on Mexican Twitter”. Do you know that bright green, creamy salsa served at your favorite taco truck? If you get a taco to-go, it comes in the tiny plastic container, and if you’re dining in, there may be a squirt bottle of it on a counter somewhere. The creamy, avocado-esq salsa. Guess what? There’s no avocado in there. No cream. Only zucchini, emulsified with some jalapeno oil and blended with tomatillos, onions, and cilantro, to make a creamy, eerily-avocado-like sauce. We hope you get over your feelings of deceit, and focus not on the omission of avocado, but instead, on the existence of zucchini. If zucchini can be the unassuming star in this everyday salsa recipe, where else can it transubstantiate from your grandma’s boiled mess to a sexy, secret ingredient?



Zucchini (and all summer squash, for that matter) are a mainstay of Southern summer cuisine because they’re one of the easier vegetables to grow in the unrelenting temperatures. When the sun blazes down from the summer sky, zucchini leaves spread their arms, catching the light’s potential, and initiating a jungle of vines and flowers to erupt beneath the large, scratchy leaves. Given enough water, zucchini plants can be prolific producers, rapidly growing more fruit as soon as the last one was picked.

Zucchini, like many of the vegetables that come to you from the farm, should be stored in your fridge, in some type of produce bag, ideally in the crisper drawer. Zucchini is a juicy fruit, and if it’s left naked in your fridge, that moisture will evaporate, leaving you a limp, sad zucchini. Which, no one wants. Wait to wash your zucchini until right before you’re going to use it.

We promise to grow delicious summer squash for you, if you promise to open you mind to how impressive this seemingly mundane summer vegetable can be. Take your pick from our favorite secret zucchini recipes below, and let us know what you think.

We grow zucchini, you cook zucchini. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

1.Top Secret Taqueria Salsa

Thanks Hector for bringing this recipe to our attention. For the record, you were talking about the wonder of zucchini salsa weeks before NPR’s All Things Considered broke the same story. We don't quite share Ailsa Chang‘s feelings of blasphemy at zucchinis’s impersonation, and are instead proud of this humble vegetable for causing such an uproar. Join the fiesta at this “newly-discovered” sauce which uses multiple ingredients in season at JBG, making it a much more reasonable salsa for a locally sourced meal. If you make one recipe from this list, this is the one we suggest. It’s so easy, VERY delicious, and after you make it once, you’ll be able to whip it together any time with that sad zucchini that is struggling at the bottom of your crisper drawer. No tomatillos? Sub green tomatoes.

Top Secret Salsa. Photo by Hector Gonzales.

 

2.Zucchini Pizza Crust

Whether or not you’re eating a low-carb diet, this seems like a good idea. Cauliflower-cust, begone! Zucchini is here to hold your favorite cheese, tomato sauce, and pizza pie toppings. Unlike a traditional pizza crust, making a crust with zucchini doesn’t require any yeast or pizza-tossing skills, and as long as you drain your zucchini well, this seems like a pretty fool-proof recipe.

3. Zucchini, refined and raw.

We all know about zoodles, but if you don’t have a fancy spiralizer, or don't feel like dirtying the clunky tool, make simple zucchini noodles, to be served raw, using a vegetable peeler. If you’re making a raw zucchini salad, make it soon after you get your zucchini -it’s best with very fresh zucchini that taste so green and bright, like the fields from where it was plucked. This lemony-marinated recipe is one of our favorite raw zucchini salads, but you could also take this salad in a Thai or Italian direction with the addition of some fish sauce and lime or Parmesan and pine nuts, respectively.

4. For the Young. Or, Young at Heart. Zucchini Fries, Tots, and Hash Browns.

Veggie tots. Photo and tots by Megan Winfrey.

We don’t really need to explain here. This looks like a wonderful zucchini “fry” recipe (they’re actually baked), which would be great dipped in zucchini sauce number 1 for the ultimate zucchini takedown. Or, mix grated and drained zucchini with grated and drained potatoes to make these tater tots or these hash browns.

5. Quick Pickle

It’s quick. And it’s a pickle. Who says cucumbers have to be the only cucurbit getting a vinegar bath this summer? The best thing about quick pickles is that they come together in mere minutes, and don’t have to be canned, aka can simply live in the fridge until they get devoured. Which won’t take long. Here is a great pickled zucchini recipe from 101 Cookbooks.

6. Dessert

There are a truly shocking number of ways to incorporate zucchini into baked goods. For those feeling truly inspired by this versatile fruit, try these zucchini dessert squares. Or, if you’re needing a way to more discreetly sneak in our secret ingredient, you could go the zucchini chocolate chip muffin route or even make these decadent looking zucchini brownies.

 

Zucchini Dessert Squares. Photo courtesy of The Splendid Table.