Still more zucchini?

Fresh ways to enjoy summer squash, from skillet lasagna to a harvest bowl

Less than thrilled about your prolific zucchini plants? Serves you right for planting more than one. Just kidding. We’re here to help.

By now, you’ve turned summer’s most over-ambitious plant into muffins, breads and enough grilled boats to sail a small army. Yet the weighty whoppers are still piling up on the kitchen counter, despite your best efforts at dingdong-dash gifting.

Fortunately, zucchini’s mild flavor and adaptability also make it a lovely addition to tarts, pastas and grain bowls. All you need is a fresh perspective and a few nifty techniques from experts, like Milk Street’s Christopher Kimball, America’s Test Kitchen’s Julia Collin Davison and chef Jessica Whiteman, the new executive chef at Berkeley’s veggie-centric Gather Kitchen, Bar & Market.

To start, invest in a 12-inch skillet with a tight-fitting lid and use it to make your pasta dishes from now on. Trust us.

“Once you get the hang of the skillet pasta method, your world opens up and you realize, ‘I could do this with any kind of pasta,’” Davison says.

Her current dish of choice is a light and bright Skillet Summer Vegetable Lasagna that is nothing like its heavy, cheese-laden cousin. The recipe, featured in “The Complete Summer Cookbook” (America’s Test Kitchen; $33), uses the liquid of canned tomatoes to cook the diced zucchini and yellow summer squash, as well as the pasta. It’s finished with dollops of ricotta and fresh, chopped basil.

“Even though I love a good homemade chocolate chip-zucchini bread, there are other ways you can prepare all that extra squash,” she says.

Skillet Summer Vegetable Lasagna

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped fine

4 garlic cloves, minced 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained with juice reserved 1 teaspoon salt

10 curly-edged lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch lengths

1 small zucchini, cut into 1/2inch pieces

1 small yellow summer squash, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/4 cup shredded fresh basil 8 ounces (1 cup) 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 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add water as needed to reserved tomato juice to equal 2 cups. 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 10 minutes. Stir in zucchini and squash. Cook until noodles and squash are tender, about 8 minutes.

Add basil and 1/2 cup ricotta to skillet and stir until sauce is creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dollop remaining 1/2 cup ricotta over noodles and serve.

Serves 4

“The Complete Summer Cookbook” by America’s Test Kitchen (America’s Test

Kitchen; $33)

Grilled Ratatouille

8 tablespoons olive oil 2 onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed 2 medium globe eggplants, cut in medium slices 3 zucchini, sliced 4 tomatoes, sliced 1 teaspoon sea salt Freshly ground pepper 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat olive oil in a castiron skillet on a mediumgrill. Saute onions and garlic until soft. Remove from skillet.

2. 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.

3. 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. Serves 8

Bruno Chemel, Baume

Restaurant

Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

2 cups grated zucchini 2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts or raisins, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs, then add oil, sugar and zucchini. Mix well.

2. 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 10 minutes before removing to cool on wire rack.

Makes 2 loaves

Laurie Gossett

Milk Street’s Tomato-Zucchini Tart

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon za’atar

1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

3/4 cup zucchini, thinly sliced or asparagus, trimmed and cut in 1-inch pieces

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1/2 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 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Roll the pastry into a 10-by-14-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, 15 to 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

Gather’s Late Summer Squash Harvest Bowl

ROASTED TOMATO-RED PEPPER VINAIGRETTE:

2 large heirloom tomatoes, cored and quartered

1 red bell pepper, stemmed and seeded

1 large shallot, peeled and cut in half

2 garlic cloves, whole

1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil, divided use

1 cup Champagne vinegar 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Maple syrup or honey to taste (optional)

HEIRLOOM SQUASH AND HERB RICOTTA:

2 pounds raw zucchini, shaved with vegetable peeler

3 pounds mixed heirloom summer squash (or more zucchini), cut into 1 1/2-inch dice

12 ounces whole-milk ricotta, room temperature

1/2 bunch fresh chives, minced

1/2 bunch fresh parsley, minced

1/2 bunch fresh oregano, minced

1/2 bunch fresh rosemary, minced

1 garlic clove, finely minced 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 lemons, juiced and zested 2 tablespoons chile oil (optional)

1/4 cup toasted and sliced almonds (optional)

To make the roasted red pepper vinaigrette, heat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine tomatoes, red bell peppers, shallots, garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss together, then spread the tomato mixture evenly in an oven-safe glass baking pan. Roast in oven for 20 to 30 minutes, stopping to gently toss the vegetables halfway through so they cook evenly, or until the vegetables are soft and slightly charred. Cool to room temperature.

In a blender, add the vegetables and all the liquid in the dish. Add remaining olive oil and Champagne vinegar and blend until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper. (If you prefer it a little sweeter, you can add a little maple syrup or honey to taste.) Let chill in refrigerator.

Prepare the squash: Place the shaved zucchini into one bowl. In another bowl, toss the diced squash and toss with a little olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Spread evenly onto sheet pan and roast in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes to desired doneness. Cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, whisk the ricotta until smooth.

Combine the minced herbs. Add half the herbs to the ricotta, along with the minced garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, zest of two lemons and half the lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add more olive oil or lemon juice, if desired. The ricotta should have a Greek yogurt consistency.

To assemble the bowls, scoop three dollops of herb ricotta into the bottom of each bowl. Using the back of a spoon, spread the ricotta around the bottom of the bowl.

Place the shaved raw zucchini in a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup vinaigrette, pouring it around the sides of the bowl and using your hands or tongs to gently combine, being careful not to bruise the zucchini. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the shaved zucchini between the 4 bowls in mounds, leaving the herb ricotta visible at the edges. Drizzle chile oil around the edge of the ricotta, if desired.

Mound the roasted squash on top of the shaved zucchini. Sprinkle each bowl with toasted almonds and the remaining minced herbs. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 4 or more Recipe courtesy of Gather Kitchen, Bar & Market, Berkeley