Zucchini Bonanza, Part 2: Zucchini Three Ways!

This is a long overdue post, considering this meal was prepared, photographed, and consumed more than a month ago!  It's been a busy summer and as I've prioritized other postings in the past few weeks, this one got left behind.

Here are three delicious things to do with the zucchini abundance and their flowers:

Fried Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Smoked Farmer's Cheese

Raw Zucchini "Pappardelle" with Fresh Basil Pesto

Whole Wheat Pizzettas with Zucchini Salsa

--K, high on the abundant summer produce


1 - Fried Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Smoked Farmer's Cheese
So, this meal started with my desire to celebrate the humble zucchini's delightful golden blossom.  In fact, technically, the ubiquitous green summer squash is itself an immature fruit, the elongated ovary of the female zucchini flower.  Squash blossoms are so delicate and their freshness so fleeting once picked that they're a genuine treat for the home gardener or farmer's market early bird.  If you can find some, lucky you, and you'd better plan to eat them that day.  So at least once per season I like to pick a bunch of blossoms, stuff them with something gooey cheesy goodness, and lightly fry them up for an indulgent dinner.

10-12 Squash blossoms
filling:
a few ounces of cheese--smoked farmer's cheese, goat cheese, mozzarella, or whatever you want, crumbled or sliced into very small pieces
a few spoonfuls of ricotta cheese, cream cheese, etc. to hold everything together
1 clove garlic, minced
a few basil leaves, sliced into thin ribbons
breading:
1 egg
a shallow dish of breadcrumbs seasoned with salt, pepper, and whatever else you'd like

First, gently rinse out the blossoms and remove the stamen or pistol from the inside--also beware of lurking insects!  Mix up your filling as desired, and use a teaspoon ot chopsticks to gently coax some filling into the blossom without tearing the blossoms.  Twist the open ends together to make a little pocket.  Dip in egg, then breadcrumbs, and lightly fry over medium heat until golden brown on all sides.

2 - Raw Zucchini "Pappardelle" with Fresh Basil Pesto
So after the fried blossom reverie, then there's the matter of the zucchini itself, and I wanted to make use of the few I had so they wouldn't go to waste before I went out of town.  Since the stuffed-and-fried blossoms would be so creamy and rich, I was inspired to use the zucchini in very clean, light, and unfussy fashion. 

Using a vegetable peeler, I shaved the zucchini into long, thin ribbons resembling the pasta shape pappardelle.  This is an extremely easy technique and a delicious and healthful way to enjoy zucchini in pasta-like ways.

Take a small bowl, and invert it in a much larger bowl.  After washing the zucchini, hold one end in your hand, and lean the other end on top the small bowl as you use a peeler to swish back and forth making long ribbons:

Finished ribbons are gorgeous and taste good simply tossed with a little lemon juice and salt:

When I plated this, I added a few teaspoons of homemade basil pesto and some toasted pine nuts to my zucchini "pappardelle," and it looked--and tasted--fantastic.

3 - Whole Wheat Pizzettas with Zucchini Salsa
This dish also makes use of raw zucchini and lemon juice, this time diced up into a light little salsa to top a simple pizzetta, or mini pizza.  Mix together:
1 zucchini, diced finely
1/4 red onion, diced finely
a few teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper
a jalapeno pepper, finely diced (optional)

For the pizzettas I used half of a package of store-bought whole wheat pizza dough, divided into six mini pizzas:

I spritzed the rounds with olive oil, topped with mozzarella cheese and a garden tomato slice, and baked in a 425 degree oven until they looked browned and the cheese was bubbly.  Then I topped the pizzas with the zucchini salsa and a sprinkle of feta cheese.  The contrasts in crisp and creamy textures, richness and lightness, sweet and tart, really work well in these pizzetta.  I wish I'd thought of this dish earlier in the season, because I could eat these babies all summer!

Zucchini Three Delicious Ways: