Come summer, whether you’re a kitchen gardener, a farmers’ market meanderer or a specials seeker at the shops, everything’s coming up courgettes, or zucchini, depending on who you ask.
Subject to how much heat you apply, or how much acid or salt you add to break it down, or what starch you bind it with, zucchini sits on a continuum of freshness and density. Its spongy texture and fairly neutral flavour means its role in a dish is less about enhancing the taste, and more about helping to build body. Just call it Arnold Gourdzenegger.
The Alice Zaslavsky method for better zoodles
Some people are suspicious of spiralised zucchini , but I remain proudly zoodle-curious. My favourite way to use them is as a half-and-half – half actual pasta or noodle, and half zucchini. That way, it lightens up the carb–veg ratio, adds more colour to your dish and offers a delightful interplay between al dente and al courge-ente.
Some people blanch zoodles, but I prefer to scald them. Pop the zoodles into the colander that’s about to catch your cooked pasta, and pour the contents of the whole pot over them. Toss with olive oil and your pasta sauce and serve.
If your dish is all-zoodle, just pour a kettle of boiling water over them to scald. Pouring your hot sauce over the raw zoodle will give you an al-dente result.
Spiralisers don’t have to be hefty electrical attachments, either. My favourite kind is like a giant pencil sharpener, with two girths to choose from. Always choose the wider noodle for scalding, and save the skinny version for spiralised zucchini bits to toss into stir-fries, fritters or salads. For salads, the acid in your dressing will “cook” the noodles just enough to soften.
Zucchini pickles
Speaking of softening with an acid, pickling zucchini slices turns them into little sponges for whatever flavours you add. My mate’s mum, Margaret, won first prize at the Maldon show with this mustardy zucchini pickle, so you might have similar success. Use a crinkle cutter to get funky, or slice on a mandoline to about a 2mm thickness.
Makes 3 x 250g jars
1kg medium-sized zucchini, washed and sliced
500g medium-sized salad onions, thinly sliced
2 cups white vinegar (500ml)
½ tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp mustard powder (Margaret uses Keen’s)
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cornflour
1 cup raw sugar (220g)
Pop the zucchini and onion into a large saucepan with half the vinegar. Bring to the boil, then drop the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine half the remaining vinegar with the turmeric, curry powder, mustard powder, mustard seeds and salt. Mash into a smooth paste.
Add the cornflour and sugar to the last of the vinegar and stir with a fork to incorporate. Pour this mixture into the simmering zucchini, bring back to the boil and stir for about five minutes, until the whole thing thickens.
Stir in the mustardy paste, drop the heat again and simmer for five minutes.
Scoop into sterilised jars and store in the fridge. The pickles will keep at their best for up to one month, then slowly start to soften.
Free-for-all zucchini fritters
These fritters continue to take the internet by storm, after I first shared them on ABC TV’s News Breakfast. What I love about these fritters is that they’re gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free, making them an absolute free-for-all for anyone with dietaries. Not only is chickpea flour (aka besan) free from gluten, it also behaves like egg when enough liquid is added. While many fritter recipes ask you to squeeze the excess moisture from the zucchini before frying, here I’m harnessing its wetness to help everything bind together. Saves on washing a bright green tea towel, too.
Makes 12–15 fritters
400g zucchini, about 3–4 medium-sized ones
½ small red onion
1 tsp salt flakes, plus extra to serve
1 cup chickpea flour (110g), plus extra if needed
1 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt flakes, for sprinkling
Using the coarse side of a box grater, grate the zucchini and onion into a bowl big enough to hold the entire mixture. Sprinkle the salt flakes on top and stir through, giving everything a squish to encourage the zucchini to start leaking out liquid. Let the mixture rest for 5–10 minutes.
Scatter the chickpea flour on top, rubbing it through your fingers to break up any lumps. (Yes, you can sift, but I like to get handsy here.) Sprinkle in the baking powder and stir together with a spatula until well incorporated. The mixture should look and feel like pancake batter. If it feels a little loose, sprinkle in another tablespoon of chickpea flour.
Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once it starts to shimmer, add heaped tablespoons of the mixture in a clockwise arrangement, so that you can remember which fritter needs flipping first.
Flip as the bottoms get golden, which will take three to four minutes. Once both sides are cooked, drain on paper towel, sprinkling with salt flakes while hot.
Serve immediately. If you’re not eating them straight away, allow to cool, then refrigerate. These will store well in the fridge for four to five days.
Roast zucchini with butter crumbs
Zucchinis are sometimes regarded as bit players, but here they’re the main act. This recipe is especially handy if you’re growing your own, and find one overgrown in the undergrowth. Just remember that the bigger the zucchini, the longer the cooking time will be. This will work as one big roast with a marrow, but as fermentation king Sandor Katz always says: the flavour peaks at the midpoint. As the zucchini grows, the flavour mellows, so be extra generous with the seasoning and cheese.
Serves 4
6 small–to-medium-sized zucchini
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup currants (75g)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
½ cup parsley, roughly chopped
60g parmesan, finely grated (preferably with a microplane)
Butter crumbs
100g butter, plus salt and pepper to taste
1½ cups sourdough breadcrumbs or panko crumbs (75g)
Preheat the oven to 180C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
Cut each zucchini in half lengthways. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the fleshy centre that also houses the seeds (aka “zucchini guts”), reserving these for later.
Brush the cut side of the zucchini with a little of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt flakes. Place the zucchini on the baking trays, cut side down, and bake for 10 minutes. Take out of the oven, flip each zucchini half over and bake for another 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, for the butter crumbs, use your fingers to rub the butter into the breadcrumbs. Stir through salt and pepper to taste.
Once the zucchini halves are out of the oven, spoon the butter crumbs into them. Feel free to heap the mixture on – height is good, as is a bit of overrun. Pop the tray back into the oven for another 10 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and crispy.
Meanwhile, sauté the reserved zucchini guts in the remaining olive oil over medium heat for five minutes, then add the currants and sauté for another five minutes, or until the currants and zucchini innards have softened. Switch off the heat, splash in the lemon juice, stir the chopped parsley through and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Schmear the mixture across the base of a serving platter. Arrange the crumbed zucchini over the top. Finish with the grated parmesan, lemon zest and a drizzle of olive oil.
