Herbed Zucchini Dip

Zucchini picked straight from the garden or sourced direct from a farmer are a completely different vegetable from one that’s travelled and sat in a store for an extended period. Fresh and local zucchinis are buttery beyond belief, sweet and flavorful. Every year it surprises me how little effort is required to turn them into something delectable. You may have seen grated zucchini recipes I’ve shared in the past (in my books and old blog). I often turn to cooking down piles of grated zucchini until they are soft and velvety and almost spreadable, this method is particularly good for large zucchinis that are not as tender or flavorful as their smaller and more delicate siblings. It’s scrumptious stirred through pasta, dolloped on rice or served with bread or toast. I kept planning on creating a recipe using the cooked down zucchini—which we can call Zucchini Butter—but each time I made it we ate it all with whatever we were serving for dinner.

Last week I got another extra-large zucchini from our CSA, so I set about turning it into a new recipe. As I cooked it down using my usual method (find it below) I gathered the herbs from the garden that hadn’t completely gone to seed and blended up this addictive dip. It gets it’s creamy body and slight sweetness from a combination