I was stunned by the summer squash at the market this weekend — table after table of long, yellow and green zucchini with drooping, shaggy blossoms still attached; tiny patty pans, dimpled all the way around; and lumpy tangles of goosenecks. I went for some shiny-skinned zucchini, and have been eating them raw, cooked and extremely cooked.
That’s the beauty of good summer squash: It’s delicious at every stage. Raw, it’s delicate and springy, absorbing the flavors of everything it touches. Cooked, it’s as sweet as cut melon, and its texture transforms. Sarah Jampel’s marinated zucchini with farro is such a brilliant recipe because it shows off zucchini’s range.
While the farro and chickpeas are simmering, tackle the zucchini, cutting half into thicker slices to brown in olive oil and shaving the rest into ribbons to leave raw. It all gets tossed in the same delicious dressing, and though it’s simple, it reminds me of great restaurant dishes that illustrate the multidimensional beauty of a single ingredient.
If you want to cook squash further than that, Ali Slagle’s caramelized zucchini pasta is a kind of magic trick, turning pounds of raw, grated zucchini into a cup or so of pure gold, delicious and versatile. Double the recipe and use the leftover spread for all kinds of other snacks.
For example:
tortilla + caramelized zucchini + fresh squash blossoms + quesillo + drizzle of salsa macha, pressed to a hot pan until crisp
pie dough + caramelized zucchini + chopped preserved lemon + blanched asparagus, baked until golden, then covered with mint leaves and olive oil
thick slice of sourdough + caramelized zucchini + white beans + basil leaves + slice of comté to cover, run under the broiler until bubbly
If you don’t want to turn on the stove, you can build a meal around Leitizia Mattiacci’s raw zucchini salad. Use a mandolin, or just lay the zucchini down on a cutting board and pull a vegetable peeler across, to make ribbons — flexible and thin. (But not too, too thin, because raw squash is spongy and the really delicate, see-through slices can quickly get slippery and weepy!) Add crumbled feta or shavings of Parmesan, toasted pine nuts or roughly chopped almonds, chile oil and lemon zest, herbs or pickled shallots. It’s nice plain, too.
