Zucchini “Burnt Ends” with herb butter and lemon

Makes 8 kebabs

Total time: 45 minutes

The mandoline is your friend here. The flat slicer with its razor sharp blade makes slicing the zucchini paper-thin a breeze.

1 stick unsalted butter (8 Tbsp.) or olive oil 2 cloves garlic, peeled and slightly flattened with the side of a knife 1 tsp. lemon zest

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill or mint leaves, plus 3 Tbsp. for serving 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes 8 small zucchini (6–8 oz. each) Coarse salt (sea or kosher) and freshly ground black pepper

Vegetable oil for oiling grill grate

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, lemon zest, 3 Tbsp. chopped dill, and pepper flakes. Cook butter until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Let cool; discard garlic.

Cut off and discard ends of zucchini. Using a mandoline, thinly slice one zucchini lengthwise. (The slices should be the thickness of a quarter.)

Lay zucchini slices flat on a rimmed baking sheet. Lightly brush zucchini slices with lemon herb butter on both sides and season with salt and pepper.

Fold a zucchini slice into an accordion shape (like multiple w's) and thread it onto a flat skewer. Don't worry if a few of the slices break — skewer the pieces back to back. Continue threading until all the slices from a single zucchini are on skewer. The green skin should be on the top and bottom. (If using round bamboo skewers, insert a second skewer parallel to the first. This keeps the zucchini slices from spinning.) Repeat slicing, buttering, seasoning, and skewering with remaining zucchini. You should wind up with 8 kebabs. It's best to skewer the zucchini right before grilling.

Preheat grill for direct grilling and heat to high. Brush or scrape grill grate clean and oil it well.

Arrange zucchini kebabs, skin side down, on grate and grill until darkly browned, even singed, at the edges, 3–4 minutes. Turn kebabs and grill the other side, skin side down the same way,

6–8 minutes in all. Baste kebabs with lemon herb butter as they grill. Transfer kebabs to a platter or plates for serving and spoon any remaining butter over them. Serve immediately.

Per skewer: 124 cal; 12g total fat (7g sat); 31mg chol;

11mg sodium; 4g carb (1g fiber, 3g total sugars);

2g protein

* If enhancing a charcoal fire, add wood chunks or chips to the coals; if enhancing a gas fire, place the chunks or chips in your grill’s smoker box or place chunks under grill grate directly over one or more burners.