Hello friends, and happy Sunday!
We are in the height of zucchini season right now and it’s a vegetable I’ve been exploring a lot this summer.
Zucchini is one of those chameleon ingredients that takes on a completely different personality depending on how you prepare it. It’s clean-tasting and crunchy when raw, sweet and melty when sautéed, juicy and downright “meaty” when seared in large chunks, etc.
If cooking zucchini is new to you, the main attribute to be aware of is its high water content.
Below, I’ve rounded up 6 delicious ways to enjoy this late-summer veg, along with tips for how to work with and against the moisture thing.
This simple side dish is elevated to Restaurant-Fancy™ status with help from a punchy caper relish - with parsley, garlic, and lemon juice - that gets scattered over the hot zucchini.
When pan-frying, be sure to:
1. Not overcrowd the skillet. The zucchini should be mostly in a single layer to ensure each piece can get browned. If the pieces are piled atop each other, they will steam and get mushy instead.
2. Use medium/medium-high heat. The hot skillet surface will help seal in the juices of the vegetable, thus preventing mushy zucchini.
3. Avoid overzealous zhuzhing! Resist the urge to stir the zucchini too often while it’s cooking. It’s more than okay to walk away for a few minutes.
4. Hold the salt. Salt draws out moisture from vegetables, so if you salt zucchini right away, all the water will come out and steam the veg. Salting at the end of cooking is key for non-mushy zucchini.
This light summer dish is basically the same flavor profile as the pan-fried zucchini above, turned into a complete meal with pasta and chickpeas.
These sweet-savory veggie pancakes are inspired by my mom’s Ukrainian recipe, except I use chickpea flour instead of eggs.
If you’ve ever attempted to make zucchini fritters, you know they have the tendency to turn out soggy. The key is to salt the zucchini after grating it and set it aside for a bit so the moisture gets released. Then you squeeze the hell out of it before making the batter.
Tender chunks of zucchini and chewy tofu cubes come together in a creamy, peanutty broth. Jarred Thai red curry paste does most of the heavy lifting here to create an ultra-flavorful one-pan meal.
If you have an air fryer, you absolutely have to give this recipe a go. These fries are ultra-crunchy and borderline addictive. The batter and panko breading lock in the zucchini’s moisture, resulting in fries that are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Serve with a side of warm marinara or spicy mayo.
In case you missed it earlier this week! This mayo-less pasta salad is packed with summer flavors like juicy cherry tomatoes, briny olives, and fresh herbs.
This Substack is the newsletter companion to my site, thenewbaguette.com. You can find all my recipes published there in full, with helpful tips and step-by-step photos. You can also follow along on Instagram, where I share video tutorials and behind-the-scenes content.
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