Taste of Tuesday: 3 Summer Zucchini Recipes to Try Right Now

If you’ve spent any time perusing the local farmers markets lately, you’ve noticed an abundance of great green zucchini. Hitting its peak season June-August (aka right now, so stop dragging your feet), we feel like we’re seeing fresh zucchini every time we turn around. 

And since we’re certainly not complaining, we rounded up a few zucchini recipes that are light, summery and begging to be made pronto. Join us, won’t you?

 

Zucchini Noodles with Cilantro Lime Chicken

via iFOODreal

The Ingredients:

  • 3 large zucchini
  • 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ pieces
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp salt, divided
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp any small pepper/jalapeño or to taste, seeded and minced (leave seeds in for maximum heat)
  • 1 medium or 1/2 large lime
  • 3/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  • cooking spray

The Process:

Using a spiralizer or mandoline, make zucchini noodles, transfer into a large bowl and set aside. (You can also chop zucchini into any size pieces, if you don’t have the gadgets for making zucchini noodles.)

Preheat large ceramic non-stick skillet on high heat and add chicken. Sauté until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add cumin, 1/2 tsp salt and ground black pepper towards the end, stir and cook for another minute. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Wipe clean or wash and pat dry the skillet and return to the stove on high heat. Spray with cooking spray and add zucchini noodles. Sauté for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add previously cooked chicken, remaining salt, small hot peppers/jalapeños, lime juice and cilantro. Stir gently and serve hot. Makes four servings.

 

Zucchini Crust Pizza

via My Humble Kitchen

The Ingredients:

Zucchini crust

  • 8 cups shredded zucchini
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2/3 cup flour (sub almond flour)
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
  • 3 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 tsp salt 

Homemade Pizza Sauce 

  • 4 large tomatoes, quartered 
  • 2 tbsp olive oil 
  • 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced 
  • 1 tbsp fresh oregano (sub 1 tsp dried) 
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme (sub 1 tsp dried) 
  • 1 tsp salt

The Process:

For the zucchini crust, preheat oven to 550 degrees with a pizza stone pre baking in it. In a large bowl, toss the zucchini with 1 teaspoon of coarse salt and set aside for 15 minutes. 

Squeeze the excess moisture out of the squash by wrapping it up in a clean tea towel or piece of cheese cloth and wringing it out, discarding the water. Once all of the excess moisture has been wrung out and discarded, place the shredded zucchini back into the bowl and add the cheddar cheese, flour, garlic, oregano, basil, eggs, and salt. With your hands, incorporate all of the ingredients together.

Place the zucchini mixture onto a piece of parchment paper at least 15” in diameter, set on something solid that will make it easy to transfer into the oven. Using your fingers, spread the zucchini crust mixture to form a circle about 14” in diameter, 1/2″ thick. Pinch the edges up so that it forms a nice crust.

Once the pizza crust has been shaped, transfer the crust on the parchment paper onto the heated pizza stone in the oven. Bake for 8 minutes or until the crust starts to brown.

Once the zucchini crust has baked for 8 minutes, transfer the pizza on the parchment paper out of the oven, onto the solid surface you used before. Top the pizza with sauce and any additional toppings that you’d like. Once the toppings are on, transfer the pizza on the parchment paper back onto the heated pizza stone in the oven and bake for an additional 4 minutes.

To make the sauce, in a large, heavy-bottomed sauce pan, add the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, oregano, thyme and salt. Bring to a boil, breaking up the tomato. Lower the heat, then simmer for 15-20 minutes. Once simmered, puree all of the ingredients in a blender.

 

Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread

via Lil’ Luna

The Ingredients:

  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 cup grated zucchini

Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp milk

The Process:

Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Then add oil and sugar until well blended. Add lemon juice, buttermilk and lemon zest to this mixture and blend all together.

Fold in zucchini until it is mixed well. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture and blend all together until well combined.

Pour batter into a greased 9×5 loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. While still warm, make glaze and spoon over the bread. Let the glaze set up before cutting and serving.

 

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