The zucchini (courgette) are delicious vegetables, originating in Central and South. Since they come from warm countries, they preferably grow in temperate climates. They ripen between spring and summer but thanks to greenhouse crops and imports they are now on the market all year round.
Although we are now used to having them always available in supermarkets, we often underestimate their benefits and their many uses in the kitchen. This apparently modest vegetable was already widely valued by the recipe books of the sixteenth century, a period in which they began to appear in Europe. Fried, raw, grilled, and stuffed: the zucchini is ready to bend to all needs. Let’s find out all the recipes, techniques, and tips on how to cook zucchini.
Zucchini: how to cook them
Being very versatile vegetables, courgettes lend themselves to numerous preparations. Since the time of Pellegrino Artusi and his “Science in the kitchen and the art of eating well”, stuffed courgettes have been known. Indeed, the zucchini. After choosing whether to cut them in half or lengthwise, or leave them whole, you must proceed to empty them. For this operation, you can use a tin torch to pass from the bottom upwards.
Depending on the size of the courgette, you can also widen the hole by digging the pulp with a small knife. The filling can include minced meat topped with a mixture of celery, carrot, and onion, mixed with an egg and breadcrumbs, or stale bread soaked in milk or broth. Once the courgettes are filled, you can cook them in butter or even in tomato sauce, or pass them in the oven.
Using the same tool, you can also get tasty au gratin zucchini, cutting them into slices and sprinkling them with cheese, oil, and breadcrumbs. Or, stuffed with the same pulp as the courgettes, with the addition of aromas, they can be stuffed and, once drizzled with oil and breadcrumbs, cook in a hot oven for 40 minutes. The signal that the zucchini is finished cooking in the oven is that nice golden crust on the surface.
To prepare the roasted zucchini, just slice them and put them on the plate until they are well cooked. They can be boiled: once cut into chunks, they are immersed in boiling water for a few minutes, until the pulp has softened. To keep them green, immediately after cooking they must be plunged into cold water. Boiled courgettes can be used as an ingredient for salads.
Among the methods for cooking zucchini is marinating. The marinated zucchini is a great classic of Italian cuisine. Thanks to vinegar, wine, garlic, bay leaf, and mint, it will give the fried courgettes cut into slices a unique flavor. The marinating time is essential: it must not be less than 2 hours.
Sautéed zucchini (courgette)
- PREPARATION 10 min
- EasyRECIPE
- Cooking 25 MIN
- PORTIONS 4 PORTIONS
Few ingredients for an outline are easy, quick, healthy, and tasty. The recipe for sautéed zucchini involves a few steps and does not hide difficulties. Just a tip: do not salt the zucchini until the end or they will lose their crunchiness.
INGREDIENTS
- 700 g of zucchini
- oil
- garlic
- parsley
- salt
- pepper
The sautéed zucchini is a classic side dish and very popular on our tables. The recipe is one of the easiest that can be found in our kitchen: few ingredients, the right degree of cooking and you will prepare crispy sautéed zucchini for the whole family.
This recipe does not include the use of onion, but only garlic which is then eliminated at the end of cooking. The sautéed courgettes with onion are a popular variant, they differ only in the presence of chopped onion, browned in oil at the beginning. In the same way, sautéed zucchini with tomato can be prepared, always adding it to the beginning. The sautéed zucchini with creamy eggs, on the other hand, transforms this side dish into a single dish.
Zucchini can be found all year round in markets and supermarkets, but remember that they are in season in June, July, and August, the best months to consume these vegetables.
There are many ways to cook zucchini, the most popular and loved recipes are baked zucchini, and we reveal all the secrets to cooking perfect baked zucchini. Among the tastiest recipes, lightly stuffed courgettes, with ham, mushrooms, and parmesan, among the vegetarian one’s Stuffed round zucchini.
