RECIPES Zucchini bread
Makes 2loaves
3eggs
1cup vegetable oil
2cups sugar
2cups grated zucchini 2cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda 1teaspoon salt
1tablespoon cinnamon 1tablespoon vanilla
½ to 1cup chopped nuts or raisins, optional
Preheat oven to 350degrees. Beat eggs, then add oil, sugar and zucchini. Mix well.
Combine flour, baking, soda, salt and cinnamon and add to zucchini mixture. Mix well. Fold in vanilla and nuts and raisins, if desired. Bake in a greased and floured Bundt pan or two greased and floured 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pans for an hour. Cool in pan for 10minutes before removing to cool on wire rack.
— Laurie Gossett
Skillet summer vegetable lasagna
Serves 4
2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1onion, chopped fine
4garlic cloves, minced 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained with juice reserved
1teaspoon table salt 10curly-edged lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch lengths
1small zucchini, cut into ½-inch pieces
1small yellow summer squash, cut into ½-inch pieces
¼ cup shredded fresh basil 8ounces (1cup) whole-milk ricotta cheese, divided
Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30seconds.
Add water as needed to reserved tomato juice to equal 2cups. Add tomato liquid and salt to skillet. Scatter noodles over onion-garlic mixture, layer tomatoes over
noodles, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 10minutes. Stir in zucchini and squash. Cook until noodles and squash are tender, about 8 minutes.
Add basil and ½ cup ricotta to skillet and stir until sauce is creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dollop remaining ½ cup ricotta over noodles and serve.
— Recipe from “The Complete Summer Cookbook” by America’s Test Kitchen (America’s Test Kitchen; $33)
Grilled ratatouille
Serves 8
8tablespoons olive oil 2onions, chopped
4cloves garlic, crushed 2medium globe eggplants, cut in medium slices 3zucchini, sliced 4tomatoes, sliced 1teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground pepper 1teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
Heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet on a medium-heat grill. Saute onions and garlic until soft. Remove from skillet.
Sprinkle the eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes with salt, and grill them on both sides on a medium-heat grill until softened. They need not be completely cooked. Layer eggplant and zucchini in the skillet, then onions, and finally the tomatoes. Cover and move it to the side of the grill, while you
grill your main course. Let ratatouille cook for about 1 hour. Finish with pepper and stir in the herbs.
— Bruno Chemel, Baume
Milk Street’s tomato-zucchini tart
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 1tablespoon za’atar
1cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
¾ cup zucchini, thinly sliced or asparagus, trimmed and cut in 1-inch pieces
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
½ cup crumbled feta cheese or finely-grated Parmesan cheese, divided use
Chopped fresh mint or basil, optional
Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with kitchen parchment. Combine the oil, za’atar, tomatoes, zucchini and onion with 1teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Roll the pastry into a 10-by14-inch rectangle, then place on the prepared baking sheet. Using a fork, poke holes all over the pastry, leaving a 1-inch (unpoked) border at the edges.
Top evenly with half the feta and all of the vegetable mixture, avoiding the edges. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, 15to 20 minutes. Top with remaining feta and drizzle with oil. Top with chopped fresh mint or fresh basil, if desired.
— From Milk Street’s “Cookish: Throw it Together” ( Voracious; $35) by Christopher Kimball