Three things to do with your zucchini harvest

Are you sick of zucchini yet? Are you foisting your harvest on unsuspecting neighbours and family? I think I hit a bit of a zucchini-eating-threshold each year—if my crop is not afflicted with any zucchini pests or diseases. When I have interesting zucchini recipes at my fingertips, sometimes I’m able to forget that zucchini is even part of the meal. So it takes longer to hope that I’m at the end of my crop. 

My three favourite zucchini recipes

1. Zucchini pizza

Zucchini pizza is my favourite thing to make with big, oversized zucchini. The whole meal is edible, except the stems! I slice a zucchini in two, scoop out the seeds and a little extra, if necessary, to make room for toppings. I barbecue the zucchini, skin side down until cooked and then add the toppings and barbecue for a few minutes longer (usually until all the cheese I’ve added has melted). I have a few different topping favourites:

• Pizza: Pepperoni, tomato sauce, tomatoes, peppers, onions and basil topped with mozzerella.
• Balsamic chicken: Chicken, roasted red peppers (and any other veggies I have kicking around) topped with goat cheese and drizzled in balsamic vinegar.
• Tacos: Ground beef with taco seasoning (that I’ve prepared indoors in a pan) and veggies, topped with cheddar cheese and cilantro. I eat this one with copious amounts of sour cream!

2. Zucchini soup

I discovered this recipe for zucchini soup on my friend Charmian Christie’s (aka The Messy Baker) website (I think I’m going to have to try her zucchini fries recipe, too!). I’ve made it without the cream and it’s still absolutely delicious! It’s also great to freeze, so if you really can’t stomach yet another zucchini meal, you can save it for winter!

3. Zucchini noodles

At this time of year, my spiral slicer works overtime to create zucchini “noodles” over which you can pour a nice marinara sauce that you’ve made from your garden’s bounty. My favourite recipe involves making the noodles into a delicious, summery pad Thai. My recipe comes from a cookbook called Enlightened Eating by Caroline Marie Dupont. Here is a recipe adapted from that book. This one, from a site called Inspiralized, looks pretty tasty, too.

Do you have a favourite way to eat zucchini?

Pin it!