Erica's Italian Adventure: Zucchini

The month of July in Italy means there is an abundance of zucchini. It is everywhere you look ... in the markets, in the gardens, at the grocery stores, at the neighbors, at the grandmas and it eventually finds its way into your fridge. Zucchini grows very well here and when it is ready to harvest there is A LOT to be eaten. People can't give it away fast enough! I have loved being the recipient of the freshest zucchini I have ever tasted and I have loved eating it ... every day!

The challenge with so much zucchini is to find creative ways to enjoy it. As you may suspect, developing new zucchini recipes was my favorite task over these past few weeks. And not only did we come up with some great uses of this vegetable, but the flower is edible as well. I tried to document as many as I could but here is the list of dishes we made with our zucchini.

Zucchini Tart (with egg, onion, poured into a pastry-lined tin and baked)
Zucchini Frittata (Italian Omelette)
Sauteed Zucchini
Mexican Burrito stuffed with rice, sauteed zucchini, beans, corn, etc.
Marinated and Grilled Zucchini
Zucchini Shredders (grated zucchini with grated onion, egg, seasoning and then pan-fried)
Fried Zucchini Flowers stuffed with cheeses
Vegetarian Lasagne (zucchini as a layer or instead of pasta)
Veggie Burgers (zucchini is grated and incorporated into the mix)
Pasta with Cauliflower Puree and Sauteed Zucchini (zucchini is the garnish and in the puree)
Farro Pilaf with Sauteed Zucchini Flowers
Roasted Tomatoes stuffed with Zucchini (breadcrumb mixture and topped with gratineed cheese)
Stuffed and baked Zucchini "Boats" (stuffed with eggplant, cheese and cous cous)
Cous Cous with Sauteed Eggplant, Zucchini, Lemon, Chicken Broth and Parmigiano Cheese
Thai Curry with Vegetables (with zucchini, cauliflower, peas, etc.)

Zucchini and the flowers on sale at Eataly in Asti

Grilling marinated zucchini and eggplant

Zucchini flowers stuffed with cheeses and battered, ready to be deep-fried

Vegetarian Lasagne: layers are grilled zucchini, eggplant, spinach, fresh basil, ricotta, mozzarella, homemade tomato sauce and pasta. This one made it to the table twice while I was here.