Zucchini grows like crazy in the summer and is also widely available this first month of autumn. Zucchini are now available in large numbers from our own vegetable garden, but also in supermarkets. High time to list what can be made with this versatile green vegetable, using recipes from culinary journalist Janneke Vreugdenhil.
1Compote of zucchini
Zucchini is a vegetable with a relatively neutral taste. This offers the opportunity to make something special with distinctive herbs. For example in this recipe, in which Janneke stews the zucchini with caraway seeds.
The gently simmered vegetables taste delicious with roasted fish which you sprinkle with a nice olive oil.
2Salad with zucchini flowers
The zucchini plant is generous. This means that those with such a plant in the vegetable garden often do not have to do any shopping, so to speak, all summer long. Eventually there is a chance that you will get tired of vegetables. This was also the case years ago with a distant neighbor of Janneke. She sent a message to see if Janneke was still interested in zucchini flowers, and Janneke didn’t know how quickly to jump on her bike.
3Stuffed zucchini
Number three on this list is a more classic preparation of zucchini. Since zucchini adapts to the taste of the filling, you can vary endlessly how you dress the zucchini. In this dish Janneke uses ham, aged cheese and tarragon.
4Pasta with zucchini
After Janneke accidentally came across a, well, rather special method for making zucchini rum, she gave it a try. But the promised land did not materialize: the zucchini became moldy in no time and the liquid that leaked from it looked more like nail polish remover than rum. And so Janneke decided to play it safe – but nice – for the time being.
Her leftover zucchini disappeared in a classic pasta with bacon and tomato sauce.
5Grilled zucchini
After a summer of zucchini soup, zucchini cake and pasta with zucchini, Janneke decided to grill her vegetables again. It produces a simple, but delicious antipasto that works well as a starter in Italian cuisine.
6Zucchini with saffron
Saffron is a delicate, red-colored seasoning that works best in a nice cream sauce. And that is exactly what Janneke does in this recipe. Her pasta with zucchini in a saffron cream sauce is easier to prepare than it sounds – and is always a hit when you have diners.
7Courgette soupwith herb pesto
Zucchini soup can get boring at some point during the summer. That is, if you forget to vary the other seasonings of a soup. For this soup, Janneke dresses the zucchini with a delicious herb pesto.
8Fried zucchini with raisins
Janneke goes through three phases when it comes to courgettes in the summer. Phase 1: bring it on! Phase 2: what should I do with it now? And finally phase 3: straight to the shed and then used to make soup for weeks after weeks of neglect. This recipe was created in phase 1, when Janneke still felt like it.