Despite what every “end of summer” Labor Day sale may lead you to believe, summer does not end for another three weeks. No one is going to rip the ice cream cone from your paws or the beach chair from beneath you come Tuesday. But there is one bit of bad news: The window for eating the season’s best produce — the kind people write songs and poems about — is narrowing.
Given how swiftly summer seems to pass, it’s no wonder we whip ourselves into a farmers’ market frenzy. We clamor to eat just one more tomato toast, one more charcoal-grilled corn on the cob, one more slice of peach pie. Yet meals with the more abundant zucchini evade the same adulation.
Just because you can buy zucchini all year doesn’t mean you shouldn’t revel in summer’s sweeter, more tender squash right now — you don’t have much longer. And because zucchini has, dare I say, more range than some of its more popular competition, you could eat it every day for a week in different forms and not tire of it.
Raw: While it’s still warm out, eat some uncooked zucchini as part of Ham El-Waylly’s zucchini-peach salad with creamy lime dressing (above). When sliced and salted, the squash softens but maintains enough snap to provide some contrast against the juicier fruit.
Zucchini-Peach Salad With Creamy Lime Dressing
Souped: A no-cook meal of zucchini puréed with herbs, cashews, broth and a handful of seasonings is the only way to eat on what could be the last 80-degree day of the year. Save Hetty Lui McKinnon’s chilled zucchini soup with lemon and basil for when that day arrives. “I’m still in awe over how simple and delicious this soup is!!” wrote Ida, a reader.
Sautéed, but chilled: When you don’t mind a little cooking but don’t yet want a hot meal, Eric Kim’s cold noodles with zucchini awaits. After just a couple of minutes on the stove, the zucchini is tossed in a dressing along with ice cubes to both cool the squash and loosen the sauce. (You can replace the one teaspoon of fish sauce with more soy sauce or a vegan seasoning such as Yondu, or leave it out entirely.)
Grilled: Some might say Kay Chun’s grilled tofu salad is a vehicle for tofu. I say it’s a vehicle for zucchini, smoky and crosshatched by grill grates, perhaps my favorite preparation of all. The grilled zucchini are accompanied by sliced snap peas and chopped herbs for optimal verdancy.
Frittered: With a box grater, shredding three or four zucchini for Melissa Knific’s five-star zucchini fritters is light work. With basil, scallions, dill and lemon zest mixed into the batter, the resulting pancakes taste a lot like “Summer’s not over ’til I say it is.”
Caramelized: Slowly reducing zucchini — I’m talking 20 to 30 minutes on the stove — creates a sweet, concentrated jam with multiple uses. Try it as a pasta sauce in Ali Slagle’s caramelized zucchini pasta or as a binder for Yossy Arefi’s white bean salad.
As sandwich filling: Kay’s crispy zucchini hero is the kind of sandwich I want to be eating poolside, a cocktail of oregano vinaigrette, tomato juices and mayonnaise dripping down my arms. To make the breading vegan, one reader recommends dipping the zucchini in seasoned almond or soy milk instead of egg, and then using a vegan mayo or your favorite plant-based sandwich spread.
Grilled Tofu Salad
Zucchini Fritters
Caramelized Zucchini Pasta
Crispy Zucchini Hero
One More Thing!
Did you know the average family of four throws out roughly $1,500 worth of food a year? Our friends at Wirecutter started a new podcast this month, and their latest episode tackles creative ways to reduce food waste, save on groceries, maximize kitchen storage and give new life to any vegetables languishing in your fridge.
The one and only Genevieve Ko, a deputy editor of New York Times Cooking, joined this week’s episode of “The Wirecutter Show” to share her favorite recipes for those less-than-exciting leftovers.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
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