Who said you can't?

By late summer, many gardeners run screaming at the sight of yet another zucchini lurking in the garden. The delightful finger long babies guiltily picked at Christmas are long forgotten as more sneak their way into the chook bucket. Every year I seem to come across a new zucchini tip and here I have one new one that dispels the myth about freezing zucs, a dehydrator recipe and a Kofta recipe that is a beauty.


ZUCCHINI SPAGHETTI

grated and blanched

Spiralise your zucchini.
Blanch by pouring over boiling water then refresh with cold water.
Allow to drain.
Pack into a box or sealed bag and freeze.
Defrost in a sieve or colander to allow excess moisture to drain.
Use in your favourite recipe.
It does not need cooking, warm through if you like.
I cooked some mushrooms, melted in a block of frozen pesto and stirred through the zucchini with some pitted olives...divine!
It has a certain chewiness of texture reminiscent of al dente pasta.
One 20cm zuc will feed two people.


This is an old favourite that I am happy to repeat:

ZUCCHINI CHIPS

Slice evenly, sprinkle with salt and allow to degorge.
Pat dry, sprinkle with pepper and salt.
Dehydrate till leathery.
Flip slices and continue to dry till crispy.

Store in an airtight container.
Serve as a snack or with dips.
Use as a gluten free 'pasta' layer in lasagne
NO fat and virtually no calories!
One 20cm zucchini makes two trays/one coffee jar.




ZUCCHINI KOFTA
A recipe for the cook who shared the spaghetti secret with me!
Serves 4 with rice and is gluten free. For a vegan option replace dairy with coconut milk

Koftas

500g grated zucchini, salted and squeezed, save liquid.

1 green chilli, chopped fine
1 large onion, chopped fine
1/2tsp grated ginger
2Tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
2Tbsp chickpea flour

Mix all well and form into 16 balls.
Fry quickly till brown or brush with oil and bake at 180 degrees.

Sauce
2 onions, chopped fine
rice bran oil
Heat oil and fry till transparent

1/2 tsp turmeric
pinch cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground coriander
Add and cook for a minute or so, till fragrant

225g canned or fresh tomatoes, chopped
zuc water from above
Add to onions and spice, simmer until reduced in volume by half.

250ml cream or yoghurt
1/2 tsp garam masala
Gently warm through, pour over koftas and sprinkle with whole roasted cumin seed or fresh coriander.

I hope you all enjoy the last of the season - in the middle of winter!

Zoup time



One here...

The cool weather after the cyclone we didn’t get has been great in that it has coincided with the summer harvest. It was easy to spend time in the kitchen on a gloomy overcast day. Along with the Satsuma’s, the zucchinis and cucumbers are going nuts. I can never understand why the nursery sells seedlings of these plants in punnets of six or eight. To consume that many you would need an extended tribal family or a dozen children. Hating to waste anything and the neighbours having already planted their own, I planted  most of the zucchinis in the most unlikely places where they had little hope of survival and of course they are all thriving! 


here

 

I had a zucchini that had ‘got away’ and now weighed about a kilo. Usually, I would stuff one this large or sneakily chop it up for chicken food. Thanks to the unseasonal rain, its skin was still tender and its seeds barely formed so I thought it worth playing around with.





Zoup

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 Tbsp oil

2 t curry powder

1 large zucchini, roughly chopped



1 Tbsp Maissel stock powder

2 Tbsp coconut milk powder



Gently fry the onion and the curry powder for one minute.

Add the zucchini and cook a minute more.



Cover with water, adding stock powder and coconut milk.

Simmer for ten minutes.

Blend and check for seasoning, add salt and pepper if you like.

Serve with a dollop of yoghurt and some chopped mint or coriander leaf.



and here!



Very quick, very easy and with so little cooking, very fresh tasting. It is also gluten free. I actually made mine in my Thermomix™ (alias ‘Thermo man,’ my favourite kitchen helper ever) which meant I didn’t even have to chop the vegies.



I expect that by tomorrow it will be back to temperatures in the thirties. I have just ‘done a Nigella’ and eaten a few mouthfuls of the left overs in the fridge and the soup tastes just as good cold. If you are weight watching, omit the coconut powder and stir in some yoghurt towards the end of the cooking time.

Maybe I should try that recipe for zucchini cake next...



Happy eating!