How to Prevent the Zucchini Apocalypse, Part 1
It is that time of year when the vegetable stars align to give us an abundance of possibilities.
zucchini apocalypse
It is also the time of year when desperate gardeners start slipping zucchinis into unlocked cars. If you find yourself at either end of this situation, I’ve got a great recipe for you. It will take care of 4 – 6 zucchinis, and a few other things that are just coming into season right now.
Want more zucchini ideas to ward of that sense of impending doom? We’ve got a collection just for you.
Now, you can use a regular peeler for this recipe, but I would recommend either springing for a spiralizer (takes up a bit more space in your kitchen, so its a bit more of a commitment) or a julienne peeler. I recommend either the Swissmar or Kuhn peelers if you purchase online. The only place I could find that sold them locally was the Good Food Store.
In the summer, we eat a lot of zucchini pasta at my house. It is is my #1 defense against the zucchini apocalypse. And a great way to replace a grain with a vegetable. And trick my unsupsecting child and husband. They’ve figured it out by now, but I can blend pasta and z-pasta together and they are pretty darn happy.
This salad is so simple and so good. I am always surprised at how delicious raw zucchini and carrots taste with a bit of garlic,salt, and olive oil on them.
This is great on its own. You can add a few things to it if you are trying to purge your fridge. I added scallions to it cause I had such fresh, lovely ones today. I made it at the office, and decided it would be my lunch. I put some sliced turkey and ham on the side (and a plopped a little mayo on the side too, because I am a mayo freak). Great meal!
Other additions include mozzerella, tomatoes, chunks of bread. . . Sides of toast! I’m guessing a little spiralized kohlrabi wouldn’t be bad, either. Maybe olives? But I haven’t tried those yet.
Caprese Salad
Summer Squash Caprese Noodle Salad
adapted from Diane Sanfilippo’s book, Practical Paleo
Ingredients:
Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh basil (I’ve used dried in a pinch, just reduce by a 1/3rd (4 teaspoons)
1 clove garlic, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste (I used white pepper, but black pepper is great too)
Salad:
around 5 cups spiralized or julienned zucchini or summer squash – I used 3 medium squash plus two of the patty pan
1 medium carrot, julienned, peeled or spiralized (when tomatoes come into season, you can use those instead)
1 scallion (optional)
How to:
I peeled my zucchini, the noodles just work better that way. But you certainly don’t have to. Spiralize or julienne peel your squashes. I spiralized mine, using the larger noodle setting. Set aside. If you want to get a bit of the water out of the zucchini beforehand, salt the zucchini noodles before you set them aside.
spiralized squash
Combine dressing ingredients in a large bowl.
dressing
Peel the carrots right into the bowl with dressing.
Carrots
If you opted to salt the squash, now’s the time to take a clean rag, towel, or paper towel and squeeze some of the water out into the sink. (I didn’t do this – I just don’t care enough about the slightly watery situation.)
Add the squash and toss with your hands. Grind a little fresh pepper on top. I added a few scallions here, too. Tastes great either way.
Eat right away, or stick in the fridge to let the flavors combine.