Tips and Recipes
for Brookfield Farm Crops

  
   
 
 

Zucchini (cucurbita pepo)

Zucchini is a summer squash that, like all squashes, descended from native related species originating in South America but is believed to have been developed in Italy. Zucchini has been popularized throughout North America most likely by Italian immigrants, their descendants, and their famous cuisine.

Summer squash is approximately 94% water, very low in calories, and a great source of vitamin A, C, potassium, and calcium.


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"Patty Pan" Summer Squash

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"Multipik" Summer Squash

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"Zephyr" Summer Squash

 
 


Recipes:

Zucchini Salad
3 small zucchinis
3 scallions, finely chopped
2 tbs fresh dill
1 tbsp parsley
4 tsp oregano
1 cup yogurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey

Wash and dice zucchini. Put in a bowl with scallions, dill, parsley, and oregano. Combine yogurt, lemon juice, and honey. Pour over zuke/scallion mix. Toss. Refrigerate at least 1/2 hour.


Chilled Zucchini Soup (from Karen Romanowski adapted from the Cook's Garden)
2 tsp butter
2 scallions
3 cups chopped zucchini
2 cups vegetable/chicken stock
1/2 tsp fresh savory
1 cup milk or half and half
curry powder to taste

Heat butter in a pan. Add curry and sauté for a few minutes. Add scallions and zucchini and cook at medium for 5 minutes. Add stock and savory. Bring to a boil and simmer on low for 10 minutes. Puree in a food processor, add the milk and blend briefly. Chill or serve it hot if you wish. (Try adding curry-you won't regret it)

Garden Zucchini Ginger Cookies
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar or honey (add 1/3 cup more flour if using honey)
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp or more grated lemon peel
1 cup shredded zucchini (packed)

Optional frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Cream butter and sugar or honey. Add egg and lemon peel and mix. Add dry ingredients; mix until smooth. Add zucchini. Drop by tablespoons onto cookie sheet and bake 15 - 20 minutes, until lightly browned. If desired, glaze cookies with frosting while still warm.

This recipe came from Abbe Vredenburg who used it to win the great Brookfield Farm Y2K zucchini bake-off!!

Zucchini & Ginger Jam
1 1/4 lb. zucchini (4 medium size)
1 1/4 lb sugar (3 cups)
1 tsp strained lemon juice
1/2" peeled ginger

Peel zucchini, put all of the ingredients in a food processor and zizz until there are no big lumps left. Heat the mixture gently in a large saucepan until all the sugar has dissolved. Then boil until setting point or until a temperature of 220 F has been reached. Put into warmed jam jars.

Tex-Mex Casserole
4 ears of corn
1/4 cup butter
3 med onions
6 med zucchinis
1 lg tomato
1 cup tomatillos
1 hot pepper
1 cup cheese, grated
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Slice all veggies. Cut the corn from the cobs and set aside. In a large skillet, sauté onions and zucchini in tbsp of butter for 5 min. Remove. Sauté the tomato & tomatillos in a tbsp of butter for 5 min. Lightly grease a large casserole. Combine all the veggies together, season with oregano. Sprinkle with cheese and dot with the remaining butter. Bake the casserole, covered, for 30 min. Then put it quickly under the broiler to brown the top before serving.


Garden Squash Minestrone
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lg onion
1 lb ground beef
2 cloves of garlic
1 lb zucchini or garden squash
3 carrots
2 stalks celery
8 tomatoes, quartered
4 cup beef stock
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup elbow macaroni
1/4 tsp pepper

Sauté onion, garlic, and beef in olive oil for 5 minutes in a large soup kettle. Add vegetables, stock, and herbs to kettle and simmer uncovered for 1 - 2 hours. Add macaroni and pepper and cook 20 minutes. You can substitute rice for the noodles, and leave out the beef for a vegetarian version.

Zucchini Bread
1 cup veg oil
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
1 1/2 cup wheat flour
1 1/2 cup white flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins

Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls and then add together. Put in bread pans and bake at 325 F for 1 hour. Freeze loaves and use all winter long.

Zucchini Ankara
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 cup chopped onions
6 tbsp lemon juice
3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
pinch of cayenne
3 zucchini and/or yellow squash cut into half moons, 1/2 inch thick
1 cup grated feta cheese
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 cup cooked, drained garbanzo beans
1/2 cup sliced, pitted black olives

Sauté onions and garlic until onion is translucent. Add squash and marjoram and cook on medium heat until squash is just tender. Add the garbanzo beans, olives, cumin, lemon juice, seasonings. Cook until everything is well heated. Adjust lemon and herbs to taste, and serve over rice or couscous. Top with feta cheese. This should be a juicy dish.


Storage Tips:

  • Zucchini dehydrates quickly. Store in plastic bag in hydrator drawer of the refrigerator for up to one week.

  • Damaged or bruised zucchini will deteriorate very quickly.

  • Cooked, pureed zucchini can be frozen in airtight containers for a great winter soup. You can also grate zucchini and freeze for use in breads and muffins.