zucchini windfall

On a recent Friday night, we were up in the country, getting ready for dinner, when we heard a knock at the front door.  At first, I thought it was just our very friendly neighbors from across the street, coming to say hello, as they are wont to do (I guess it's a country thing?).  But it turned out to be our next door neighbors, who we later learned have a thriving garden (in addition to cows, pigs, chickens, and horses), with an enormous basket full of oversized zucchini for us!  Since we were literally getting ready to sit down dinner (grilled steaks and scallops with summery corn risotto and an arugula salad with grilled portabella mushrooms and pine nuts), it was too late to include any of the 7 zucchinis in our meal, but the very next morning I cracked open my recipe binder and set about finding recipes to make use of our zucchini windfall.  (For anyone wondering, we decided *not* to sign up for a CSA this year because of how much weird lettuce we got last year.)

First up:  zucchini cornbread from the July 2012 issue of Bon Appetit.  I had seen this recipe last summer and was determined to make it eventually, so I happened to already have some of the more unusual dry ingredients (e.g., whole wheat flour and ground cornmeal) in my cabinet.  The finished bread, a delicious combination of sweet and savory, tasted most obviously brunchy, but was also nice with a cup of soup at lunch time and I can imagine including it in a meal featuring Mexican flavors or with a bowl of spicy chili.

Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large zucchini (about 10 ounces)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup medium-grind cornmeal

1. Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.  Grease/butter a 9x5x3 loaf pan (I used cooking spray).

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Continue cooking until butter solids at the bottom of the pan turn golden brown, about 3 minutes.  Scrape butter into a medium bowl.  Set aside and let cool.  Whisk in eggs and buttermilk.

3. Trim zucchini ends.  Thinly slice five 1/8" rounds from 1 end and reserve for garnish.  Coarsely grate remaining zucchini and add to bowl with butter mixture.  Stir until well blended.

4. Mix both flours, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cornmeal in a large bowl.  Add wet zucchini and fold to blend (mixture will be very thick).  Transfer batter to greased loaf pan and smooth top.  Place reserved zucchini slices down center of bread batter (see photo above).

5. Bake bread until golden and a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, about one hour.  Let bread cool in loaf pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Next up: a savory zucchini, herb, and rice gratin from Deborah Madison's classic "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone," (courtesy of my former colleague and vegetarian, Larissa).  This summery vegetarian dish makes a great main course (with salad) or side dish (with grilled or roasted chicken?) and is fairly easy to make, with the exception of draining the grated zucchini.  Deborah Madison's version uses white rice and a lot of marjoram; I used brown rice and a combination of chives and thyme.  (I'm not sure I know what marjoram even tastes like, but I didn't have any and I did have thyme).  This could also be a great way to use of leftover Chinese food rice.

Here's the recipe:

3 medium zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds), coarsely grated
1 cup uncooked long or short grain brown rice (or about 2 cups cooked rice)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, finely diced
2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup grated parmesan, gruyere, ricotta salata, or pecorino cheese
freshly grated nutmeg, to taste.

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and lightly oil a rectangular baking dish (I used cooking spray).

2. Toss the grated zucchini with 1 teaspoon of salt and set in a colander to drain.

3. Cook the rice according to the instructions and set aside.

4.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and cook the onion over medium heat, until softened.  Squeeze the zucchini to get rid of any excess moisture and add to the onions, cooking until the pan is dry and the zucchini has begun to brown, about 10-12 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

5. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour, stirring and cooking until you end up with a golden brown paste (a rue!).  Add the milk and whisk until smooth.  Cook over low heat until milk mixture begins to thicken.  Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Stir in chopped chives and thyme leaves.  (You have just made an herbed bechamel sauce.)

6. Combine the rice, zucchini, and half of the herbed milk sauce and pour into greased baking dish.  Top with grated cheese and remaining milk sauce and bake until golden, about 25 minutes.  Serve warm.