What This Zucchini Skeptic is Doing with Her Squash Haul
I have a confession to make: I hate zucchini.
It’s not as though I don’t like anything from the squash family—I practically gorge myself on pumpkins, butternut and acorn squash in the fall, and I’ll never turn away a squash blossom, battered and fried crisp. But to me, zucchini lacks a point of view: It’s a watery summer veg better for spiriting quietly into cake batters than celebrating on its own.
To challenge myself, I set out to cook five of our most popular zucchini recipes in the space of a week, to see if I could pick up some pro tips that would teach me how to show zucchini off to its best advantage.
Zucchini Carbonara
I was most excited to try this recipe, a riff on classic Roman carbonara we learned from an Italian cookbook author Claudia Rinaldi, because who would believe that zucchini could ever fill the shoes of guanciale, fatty cured pork cheek? I’d sooner believe it of mushrooms or sun-dried tomatoes.
But surprisingly, the recipe works. Takeaway number 1 for better zucchini: A hard sear, in this case in garlic-infused olive oil, goes a long way toward developing a deep savoriness, one that very much belies zucchini’s otherwise mild flavor. Beyond the browned zucchini working well here, this is also just a reliably good carbonara recipe. A hearty dose of Pecorino, Parmesan, eggs and black pepper emulsify with pasta water without clumping or gumming up, a common pitfall of other cheese-and-water pasta sauces (most of our mixing happens off heat, starting with pasta water). And, though purists may disagree, I think the lemon zest, garlic and red pepper flakes, which are unorthodox additions, lighten up the famously decadent dish.
Charred Zucchini with Gochujang and Scallions
A fiend for gochujang, this was next on my list. The concept, inspired by Korean side dish hobak muchim, is simple: broil zucchini until charred, toss with a gochujang-based dressing. The dressing is a flavor powerhouse—fermented chili paste provides a hit of funky heat, seasoned rice vinegar sweet acidity and toasted sesame oil a little rich nuttiness, plus punchy aromatics—so the last thing we would want would be for watery vegetables to dilute it. This simple recipe, featured in our Vegetables cookbook, cleverly avoids this with a 5– to 10–minute pause after broiling, when the zucchini slices release some of their liquid. (The short cook also means the zucchini slices stay pleasantly toothsome.)
Zucchini Salad with Lemon, Herbs and Ricotta
Another tip to avoid zucchini diluting dishes? Removing its soft core. I learned this one in our recipe for a bright, summery salad based on a dish tried in Puglia, Italy. Zucchini slices, stripped bare of their soft seeded cores, are marinated with lemon juice, rosemary and honey for 15 minutes until just slightly softened and infused with lemony flavor. Don’t let them sit past 15 minutes, or the slices will get too soft!
Then, the slices are topped with lemon zest-infused ricotta, toasted pistachios and sesame seeds and lots of herbs. The crunch from the nuts, the creamy richness from the ricotta and the bright finish from the herbs balance what could have been another boring salad. My one note: Next time, I’d actually leave the rosemary out—I personally find it too woody and strong to bite into raw.
Zucchini and Green Chili Soup
Packed with Mexican-inspired flavors, this electric green soup achieves creaminess without any dairy. The soup’s fresh, vegetal flavor relies on cooking the squash down until brown and tender, but we do so quickly so that the vegetable doesn’t lose its fresh taste. That’s a smart tip. I have no doubt the soup would be duller, both in hue and flavor, with squash that had been cooked beyond recognition. I love two things in particular about this recipe, beyond the flavor: 1) I’m always squirreling away dairy-free recipes that still taste creamy for vegan friends and 2) the soup tastes more complex than something pulled together in just under 40 minutes.
Zucchini and Saffron Risotto
Even though I was already about six pounds of zucchini in, I wanted to try one last recipe—this Zucchini and Saffron Risotto—if only because it reminded me of an absolutely heavenly pumpkin-saffron risotto I tried in Venice a few years ago. Zucchini seems like the star here, as it’s browned with Fresno chilies and set aside to top the cooked rice, but do you know what the actual showstopper is? The saffron broth. I didn’t realize how sick I am of risottos that all taste like the same-old [insert stock here]. I want to be surprised, and saffron broth is surprising.
I’m saffron-obsessed, and it’s hard to find things to pair with it that don’t overpower its delicate, honey-sweet, floral aroma. Turns out, zucchini plays well with others, leaving room for subtler flavors.
It took this final recipe to recast that aspect of zucchini as a good thing. The more I cooked with zucchini all week, the more I realized half the battle is using tricks to manage its moisture and texture. I expected to learn to tolerate it. But I'm turning a corner to actually appreciate zucchini as something worth bringing to the table on its own. Let’s just say I’m making the most of what’s left of summer squash season.
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