Today’s recipe comes courtesy of Rivki at Kosher Cooking for Ordinary People (and Healthy Eating for Ordinary People.) I can’t say enough good things about Rivki’s recipes. And her lovely photos. Makes me want to invite myself over for diner (and never leave!).
There are some foods that taste great no matter what you do (or don’t do) with them. Cherries. Basil. Peaches. Tomatoes.
Notice that zucchini isn’t in that list? That’s because in my mind, it’s an ultra-un-glamorous food. It’s inexpensive, kind of bland, and just not terribly exciting. Try as I might, I have a hard time making it taste great. I serve it frequently in the summer, but it’s always kind of ‘ho hum.’ Nothing to write home about.
This week, I got two absolutely monstrous zucchinis in my CSA box and I knew I needed to find a good use for them. After making FOUR loaves of zucchini bread and using up only ONE of the zucchinis (I told you they were monstrous!), I decided to roast up the rest.
Wow. That was one a great tasting zucchini.
Roasted Zucchini and Eggplant Salad
Serves 4-6
1 large or 2 medium zucchinis
1 medium eggplant
1 beefsteak tomato
1 onion
6-8 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
Some chopped fresh oregano, if you have any
Salt to taste
½ bunch of cilantro (substitute parsley if you don’t care for cilantro)
Juice of half a lime or lemon
Heat the oven to 425*.
Peel the zucchini and eggplant. Chop them coarsely and evenly.
Chop up the tomato and onion and then peel and halve the garlic cloves.
In a large bowl (or plastic bag if you’re lazy), toss the vegetables with the oil, oregano and salt.
Spread the veggies on a nice large baking sheet. You want them in a single layer; don’t crowd them or they will steam instead of roasting.
Roast for about an hour, stirring from time to time. The vegetables are ready when they look soft and are beginning to caramelize. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice and let it sit for at least ½ hour. You can serve this dish warm, at room temperature, or even cold. Put some plain Greek yogurt next to it and call it a meal! Don’t tell anyone, but I hid the leftovers in the back of the fridge and ate them all week long.
Rivki Locker is just an ordinary person who wants to help other ordinary people! She has four children, works full time, and never seems to have time for any extras. But she somehow find time to cook and blog. Visit her blogs at Kosher Cooking for Ordinary People and Healthy Eating for Ordinary People.
Do you have a favorite veggie recipe? Or dip recipe? Or dip recipe made with veggies? Or something really inventive that you do with all your summer zucchini?
Please share your delicious recipes & zucchini suggestions in the comments section.
Hi Mara!
I ran out of this last week, but I am planning to make it again. Grilled “salad” from home.
Grill tomatoes and peppers, 1 for 1
For about every 10 grill 1 med size onion
transfer in a ziplock or in a bowl with a seal, the trick is to seal the air on the veggies to create moisture, the skin will come off very easily.
Put everything in the food processor with a garlic head.
Add oil, s/p and lemon juice to taste
I am also curious about zucchini recipes…Stuffed zucchinis are yum 🙂 But works best with the fat round ones.
Have a great shabbos!
Oh my gosh, this sounds so yum! Thanks for sharing TP!
I actually put zuchinni in my Chicken soup. It tastes awesome and is an easy way to get m kids to eat a vegetable they wouldnt normally.
My friend Bracha does this, too – and it’s delicious!
I would love some additional veggie recipes because I’m in a veggie rut…
Zucchinis are my secret ingredient in meatloaf. DD is anti-veggie, so it started as a stealthy way to expose her to green things. I grate it and use it in place of the liquid in my mother’s meatloaf recipe. Since people give away zukes in the summer and I’d have to buy it in the winter, I just fill snack size ziploc bags (that’s about the right amount for a couple pounds of meat) and I put those in a gladware container in the freezer. I find that double seal protects it well enough. When I’m ready to use it in January I just take it out of the freezer for a 1/2 hour or defrost in the microwave. I guess this isn’t really a recipe, but it’s something to do with excess zucchinis. Save it for later.
This is a great idea – both the freezing and the adding to meatloaf. I add to my meatballs (we eat those more than meat loaf) and I also freeze in grated portions for zucchini bread.
I use a little tool called a spiralizer to make zucchini into a speghetti pasta look alike. It’s low calorie and with sauce , tastes great.