Over sized zucchini

[PinkinPA]

Any ideas on what to do with it? I'm allergic to the pollens on the fuzz so by the time someone els gets around to picking them, they are huge!!

I already have an over abundance in the freezer shredded..what else can I do with it?

[Paeta16]

Oh you can do so much with zucchini! My personal favourite is making zucchini cakes, breads or muffins for a healthier option (mix it with chocolate, banana, carrot, nuts etc. for a variety). You can do the following:

Add it to pizza, casseroles, stir fries
Soup
Grill it up with some other veggies (peppers, celery, etc.)
Zucchini fritters

[JessicaS]

I love zucchinni!

I like it sauted a bit with marinara over it, you can shred it up and make "potato pancakes" with it

Zucchinni doesn't have a lot of flavor itself so you can use it for anything really. It is just as good in lasagna as it is in stir fry.

There is a thread in here about "crooknecked squash" and anything you can do with summer squash you can do with zucchini

[crowcaw]

My mom used to use the giant zucchinis to make zucchini parmesan, just like eggplant parmesan.

[amma_mama]

How about a stuffed (baked) zucchini? Scoop out the flesh, leaving enough to make a "boat". Chop up the flesh with tomatoes, garlic, herbs, breadcrumbs (and, if desired, some ground chicken/lamb/beef, or a bit of anchovy for flavor, whatever), and sprinkle with parmesean cheese. You can bake it "plain" or with a marinara-type sauce over it (or can add the sauce at the end). Maybe serve with some plain pasta (with butter or olive oil) and a salad.

[pixiepunk]

i always make a bunch of zucchini breads and freeze them - it's so nice to just pop one out of the freezer when you want one!

we also do a 'poor man's crab cake' which is basically just a zucchini fritter with old bay in it. they are really yummy. and those freeze well too. i like to freeze some already made food as well as just the shredded zucchini.

we also love to do tempura with some of the fresh veggies from the garden. just make a batter with some flour and egg and ice cold water, dip the veggies in the batter and then in panko bread crumbs and fry. we don't do fried foods at all normally, but we make an exception this time of year for tempura

i also have a fun recipe for mock apple pie squares using zucchini. the kids devoured them in seconds last year when i made them! they were really tasty.

this time of year there are probably lots of blogs out there with zucchini recipes too, you might find some fun stuff with a quick google.

[Jaxinator]

Ha! I'm cooking up some right now!
I made penne, sauteed yellow and green zucchini with garlic, salt and pepper in some olive oil, going to add that to the penne with a bit of basil and grated parmesan. Takes minimal time and effort

[Alyantavid]

When mine get really big, I shred and freeze them. Then I can make all sorts of things year round.

[blessedmama59]

Zuchinni bread/muffins, shred some and throw into pancakes..freezes well too! Stuffed zuchinni is yummy! Just cut length wise, scoop out the center and mix that with whatever you prefer, spoon mixture back onto zuchinni and bake for about 15-20 min. You can make veg lasagna. Cut lengthwise and throw them on the grill/pan with some olive oil and S&P. I used up the last of a HUGE zuchinni last night. Half of it was used for bread and the other half I diced up with some tomato and sauteed in butter with S&P and oregano then ladled over couscous..yum!

[Caryliz]

I have the same problem! In fact, we sent out a recent (joke) electronic birth announcement to family and friends, announcing the arrival of Baby Zuke, who weighed in at 7 pounds, 6 ounces, and was 18.5 inches long...!

Of course, if Baby Zuke was the ONLY squash in our fridge it would be no big deal, but since I already had 4, it was time to get cracking on the zucchini recipes. Here's one from Gourmet magazine we tried and liked:

Lemon Zucchini Vichyssoise
1 large leek, washed, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound baking potato
1 1/2 pounds zucchini (4 cups), scrubbed, sliced thin
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Lemon slices

In a large heavy saucepan cook leek, onion and garlic with salt and pepper to taste in oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until leek is softened. Peel potato and cut into 1-inch pieces. Add potato, zucchini and broth to leek mixture. Simmer mixture, covered, 15 minutes, or until potato is very tender.
In a blender purée mixture in batches until very smooth, transferring as puréed to a bowl. Stir in cream, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Chill soup at least 6 hours or overnight. Before serving, thin soup with ice water, season with additional lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Garnish with lemon slices. Makes 6 cups.

Added advantage - soup is eaten cold, which was/is perfect for all this hot weather we've been having!!! I made this in the evening after everyone else was in bed (and the kitchen was cooler). My 5-year-old loved drinking it out of a glass for his lunch the next day.

Pixiepunk - can you post your mock apple pie squares recipe? It sounds like something my boys would gobble up (and hey, there's still an awful lot of zuke in my fridge!!!) Thanks

[redvlagrl]

I had a really big one off my plant too (it was hiding). I chopped it up and threw it into the stew I made (towards the end of the cooing). If I had ready shredded then I would thmake it into a yummy zucchini frittata. When I do this for pot lucks people go crazy for it. The extra big seeds seem to go soft when cooked.

[pixiepunk]

Mock Apple Pie Squares

4 cups flour (all-purpose, or i use whole wheat pastry flour)
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups cold butter

8 cups sliced peeled zucchini
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
(or you can just do a heaping tsp of apple pie spice)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

in a large bowl combine flour sugar and salt. cut butter in until it resembles coarse crumbs. press half of the crumb mixture into a greased baking pan. bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. set remaining crumb mixture aside

meanwhile in a large saucepan, bring zucchini and lemon juice to a boil. reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5-6 minutes or until tender. drain. stir in the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/2 cup of remaining reserved crumb mixture. cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. then stir in walnuts
spread filling evenly over baked crust. sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. cool and cut into squares. yields about 30 squares.

[Caryliz]

Originally Posted by pixiepunk

in a large bowl combine flour sugar and salt. cut butter in until it resembles coarse crumbs. press half of the crumb mixture into a greased baking pan. .

What size baking pan?

Thanks

[InMediasRes]

Lots of great suggestions. I wanted to add that we add ours to black bean and tomato quesadillas (shredded, just like the cheese).

[dogmom327]

Slice and use as the "noodles" in lasagna

[pixiepunk]

oops! sorry, 15x10 is what the recipe says, though i just use whatever is similarly sized and clean

[InMediasRes]

Ooh! Forgot we did this one a while back and it was good. I topped it with herbed croutons and parm.

[dogmom327]

Use zucchini as a pizza crust

http://www.nourishingdays.com/2010/0...ucchini-pizza/

[bizzylizzy]

How does it workk as baby food?

[St. Margaret]

You make my mama's wonderful zucchinni bread!

It is SO good. And pretty healthy, too!