Roasted Zucchini with Cheese and Herbs

A vegetable side dish doesn’t have to be complicated. I often remind myself of this when menu planning for a party of twelve or more. Even if I’m making dinner for two, I remind myself again and again: keep it simple, keep it fresh and it will be great. Sometimes I’ll browse through a cookbook and see a massive list of ingredients for a vegetable dish and I’m already exhausted. I’m not new to cooking vegetables. After 19 years of being a vegetarian, I’ve pretty much cooked every vegetables a few times over. But if a vegetable recipe has an ingredient list a mile long, it’s intimidating, even for a veteran veggie cook.

So what do I do? I put what ever cookbook that wore-me-out, aside. And I go into my kitchen and improvise.

I think simple. And with a bunch of Summer squash ripening on our vines, I think of quick. Hurry, because we’re being overloaded with Squash that if we don’t eat it fast enough, we’ll be over run *again* with a vegetable that we don’t know what to do with.

As I’m staring at our bushels of yellow squash, I’m already craving something roasted. Though today I’m only cooking for two, I’m thinking of twelve. What recipe can I make with all this squash that won’t wear me out and have me hovering over the sink with dirty dishes.

Parmesan cheese and herbs come to mind as I’ve already scared myself into NOT washing a ton of dishes. So I decided to just slice up the zucchini and after a light brush of olive oil, I piled on a bunch of my favorite cheese and sprigs of fresh herbs. It’s always nice to pile fresh herbs onto cheese because it’s a great rationale to thinking that it’s healthy.

Voila. Within thirty minutes I had a veggie side dish for two and if I was cooking for twelve, it probably take me about the same amount of time. This is one of my favorite recipes to feed a crowd and for two. The fresh flavor of the herbs and zucchini come out perfectly and the cheese adds that extra bite of flavor and salt. With only four ingredients (not counting the salt/pepper), some oven roasted-love and about 20 minutes of patience, you can have one of the most easiest and perfect vegetable side dishes.

Honestly, I can’t imagine a quicker and more satisfying roasted dish. And if you are having a bumper crop of summer squash or zucchini in your garden, this will be a perfect recipe to feed your hungry crowd at your next gathering.

hugs,

diane

What do you do with all your extra zucchini or summer squash? Tis the season.

Yield: Serves 2-3

Total Time: 30 min

Cooking time will vary depending on how thick you cut your zucchini. So keep checking the texture of your zucchini to see how quickly it cooks. Also, choose any cheese you want. A harder, drier cheese, like parmesean, will brown quickly and can burn, so consider slicing your zucchini thinner for quicker cooking if you choose parmesean.

2 medium summer squash or zucchini3/4 cup of shredded cheeseabout 2 Tablespoons of fresh herbs, mincedolive oil to lightly coat the squash slicessalt and pepper to tastePre heat oven to 375 degrees.Trim ends of zucchini squash and slice lengthwise about 1/4" thick. Lightly brush or spray both sides of each slice with olive oil. For the herbs, lightly spray the leaves with oil so that they don't burn.On baking sheet lined with parchment paper, lay the slices in one layer. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top of each slice, to taste.Add cheese and herbs on top of each slice.Bake zucchini squash about 20 minutes in the oven, or until the zucchini is cooked and cheese is melted.

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Zucchini Bread

Weekday breakfasts are a complicated matter.

I am not the sort of person who can have cereal, oatmeal, or toast every single day of the year, as great as they are for folks like me who are married to their computers. Sure, I’ll go through week-long spells of eating one of the aforementioned foods. But then I get bored and move on to the next, and the next, until the cycle repeats itself.  Every once in a while (too often, actually), I’ll break down and buy a bagel. But alas, one can’t do that every single day, especially with the amount of cream cheese New York bagel shops typically slather on.

Lately, I’ve gotten back into baking. And hopefully this will solve my breakfast dilemma. My goal is to bake at least one new (healthy-ish) breakfast item a week that can last me 3 or 4 mornings. Then maybe cereal and oatmeal won’t seem so boring after all.

First up is zucchini bread, something we’ve adored in the US since the 1960s. I had been craving zucchini bread since Saturday, when my friend Amy told me she made a loaf to get her vegetable-phobic husband to eat something green. (He ended up loving it.) And I had been wanting to try out a bookmarked zucchini bread recipe from The American Century Cookbook. The author got the recipe in the 1970s from an Illinois woman she interviewed for Family Circle magazine. “This was my first encounter with zucchini bread but by no means my last,” the author wrote. “I have been offered zucchini bread recipes by cooks from all over the country but have yet to find a finer one.”

And it certainly was better than other zucchini bread recipes I’ve tried. There is a good amount of zucchini here, but it still feels like a solid bread. The ground cinnamon and ginger notes are faint but pleasant, and lemon and orange zest add a nice citrusy scent. (I substituted orange zest for the orange extract in the original recipe.) But mostly it was because the outside developed a perfect crust while the insides stayed moist and light.

Now I’m off to look for more bread ideas for next week. If you have a recommendation, let me know!

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Zucchini Bread

Makes 1 loaf

3 large eggs3/4 cup vegetable oil1 1/2 cups sugar2 cups coarsely grated zucchini, packed (about 2 medium zucchini)1 teaspoon lemon zest1 teaspoon orange zest1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract3 cups all-purpose flour3/4 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/4 teaspoon ground ginger2 teaspoons baking powder1 teaspoon baking soda1/2 cup chopped pecansPreheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9?x5? loaf pan. Set aside.In a mixer, beat the eggs at medium speed until foamy on top. Continue beating while you carefully add the oil. Add the sugar and cream the mixer on high speed. Add in the zucchini, lemon zest, orange zest, and vanilla.In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter one cup at a time, stopping the machine once the last cup is well-incorporated so you don’t over-mix. Manually fold in the pecans.Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, checking at the 60 minute mark. The bread is done when the top is brown and a butter knife or toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.Allow the zucchini bread to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. (It might fall apart if loosened too soon.) Loosen the bread around the edges with a spatula or butter knife, then turn out onto the rack. Allow it to cool for another 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.

Adapted from The American Century Cookbook by Jean Anderson

Tagged as: Baking, Bread, Breakfast, Recipes, Zucchini

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Zucchini Noodles with Pan-fried Tofu

I’m going to come clean about a recent addiction.

Don’t worry, it’s not drugs or smoking or cheap vodka. But my doctor still might not approve. You see, a few months ago I discovered my local co-op got fresh almond croissants delivered everyday from Cannelle Patisserie, easily one of the best pastry shops in New York. They are big and filled with almond paste and flakey in the best way possible. I can’t get enough of them.

On a good week, I’d get one or two for breakfast and be done with it. During weaker periods, I’d succomb to three or four in a week. Self control, at least when it comes to croissants, is not my strongest quality.

In an effort to prevent my diet from being way too carb-heavy, I’ve been experimenting with some healthy lunches that aren’t rice- or noodle-based. Or rather, wheat-noodle-based. I still like the thought of having noodles, so why not just make them out of vegetables instead?

(This was also partly influenced by a recent conversation with my friend Justin, who has gone gluten-free and says he has never felt better. I’m not going gluten-free, but maybe more vegetables in place of wheat would make me feel less sluggish day-to-day.)

And so I’ve gotten into the habit of making zucchini noodles, with a sauce similar to the ones I make for soba and other cold noodles. I just use a vegetable peeler to slice the zucchini into wide ribbons, briefly cook them, and toss them with a sesame oil, soy sauce (you can also opt for gluten-free soy sauce), and rice vinegar mixture.

To make the dish more filling, I pan-fry some tofu with ginger in a skillet to top off the noodles. Carrots add some nice color, plus they are also easy to julienne, but you can also toss in some chopped kale or boy choy or sliced raw radishes. I also sometimes add nori strips (sliced from nori snack packs) on top for some umami oomph, but you can leave them out if you choose.

Plus, because the noodles can be eaten at room temperature or cold, they’re fantastic for the upcoming summer, which promises to be long and muggy. Make a big batch for the week, eat it straight out of the fridge, and feel less guilty about your morning pastry habits! (Or so I tell myself.)

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Zucchini Noodles with Pan-Fried Tofu

Serves 2 to 3 as a main course

3 large zucchini1 large carrot, peeled3 tablespoons soy sauce (can substitute gluten-free soy sauce)1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar1 pound (1 block) extra-firm tofu1 to 2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil1/2 tablespoon minced or grated gingerSalt and pepper to taste1 teaspoon white sesame seedsNori strips, optional (I bought nori snack packs and sliced the sheets into thin strips)With a vegetable peeler, slice the zucchini into wide ribbons. (I rotate the zucchini every 2 or 3 slices so the ribbons get a nice thin strip of dark green along the edges.) With a julienne or vegetable peeler, slice the carrot into strips.In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar.Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the zucchini and cook for about 1 minute. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain well. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with half of the soy sauce mixture, reserving the other half. Transfer the tossed zucchini noodles to a large serving dish.Drain and rinse the tofu, then cut into flat, bite-sized pieces. Blot the tofu all around with a paper towel (drying the tofu helps it pan-fry better.)In a large skillet, add half the cooking oil. Working in two batches, pan-fry the tofu until golden brown and a little bit crispy on the outside, about 3 minutes per side. Add the ginger to cook for about 30 seconds after the second batch has gotten crispy. Salt and pepper to taste.Top the noodles with the tofu and drizzle the remainder of the soy sauce mixture on top. (If all the tofu doesn’t fit, you can also put any extras in another dish to be served on the side) Sprinkle the sesame seeds and nori strips on top and serve.

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Related posts:

Kale and Sesame Soba Noodles

Cold Sesame Noodles

Stir-fried Vermicelli with Garlic and Scallions

Red Curry Peanut Noodles

Curry Laksa

Tagged as: Noodles, Recipes, Vegetarian

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East Meets West- Zucchini with Pork and Rice Stuffing

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Cucumber and Zucchini Carpaccio Salad – Cristina Ferrare’s Big Bowl of Love

We love our job. Of course there are always challenges that come with each project we photograph or film, but at the end of the day we are always thankful for the wonderful people that we work with and Cristina Ferrare is one of those wonderous souls that help us love our job to no end.

Last year she selected us to photograph her new cookbook, Big Bowl of Love, which is also the title of her cooking show on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

To work with her on photographing her recipes and lifestyle shots for the Big Bowl of Love was such a huge honor, we’re still over the moon about the whole project. We wrote about the behind the scenes of her cookbook shoot a while back.

Cristina is a true cook and a shining example of someone who feeds from the heart. Every single one of her recipes in the cookbook was cooked with her own two hands and she make sure each dish was made with the utmost care.

She didn’t treat the project like a cookbook shoot. There was no fake food or prissying up the dish for the camera. Instead, each recipe in the book was prepared as if she was feeding her loved ones. She selected the freshest and best ingredients she could gather from the markets and prepared them in her own kitchen. We were just the very fortunate photographers to be there to capture it.

We also ate EVERY SINGLE DISH and gained 10 happy pounds each. Every bite was bliss on the job.

The best part about this project is that her book embodies everything that represents love, family, feeding, feasting and more love in big bowls. We were surrounded by her amazing family (Tony, Alex, and Arianna), all of whom love, support and respect one another deeply. This project was like working with family, they treated us like family and that meant the world to us.

Cristina’s love of food and family spills from every page of her book and we’re so happy to be sharing one of her recipes with you here today.

Cristina having fun with her daughters Ari & Alex

Cristina cooked for her big party & feast

fresh ingredients and flavorful recipes

Alex and Ari helping out in the kitchen and set up

A party at Cristina’s would not be complete w/out fresh flowers!

 Print This Recipe
Cucumber and Zucchini Carpaccio Salad Recipe
A perfect elegant summer salad from Cristina Ferrare’s Big Bowl of Love cookbook. Serves 4-6. 1/4 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil4 T fresh Lemon Juice1 T Rice Wine Vinegar1 T finely chopped fresh Mint2 t finely chopped fresh Dill1 T finely chopped Italian Parsley2 Zucchini, sliced paper thin2 Cucumbers, sliced paper thin1/2 t Kosher or Sea Salt1/2 c crumbled Feta Cheese1/4 c finely chopped, roasted Walnutsfresh cracked Black PepperCombine olive oil, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, mint, dill, and Italian parsley in a medium bowl and whisk together to combine. Set aside.Arrange sliced zucchini and cucumbers on a large platter, alternating zucchini slices with the cucumber slices.Sprinkle slices lightly with kosher salt. Drizzle 3 T of dressing over the slices. Sprinkle with crumbled feta, walnuts, and fresh cracked black pepper.Serve immediately. (If you are not going to serve right away, do not dress slices with vinaigrette yet.  Wait until you are about to set then add dressing at last moment.)

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