Zucchini, Spiralising, and Eating Flowers…

f you have seen my Theme Reveal for the A2Z Challenge 2022, then you will know that I am writing about becoming Vegetarian gradually as a response to the crisis in food supply chains sparked by the pandemic and made worse by the WAR in Ukraine. As well, I am keeping to the theme I originally planned of food which can be eaten in its own right as well as becoming an ingredient in other dishes…

Although Ratatouille was in my beloved copy of Elizabeth David’s “Mediterranean Food“, I really learned to make this dish in my first restaurant job. I blagged my way into working at “The Good Food Shop” in London to assist the chef by cooking at weekends and taking some of the load off her, and ratatouille was one of the dishes I had to prepare in commercial size saucepans… Elizabeth David stresses that this Provençale ragout of onions, aubergine (eggplant), Zucchini, peppers (pimento) and tomatoes, should be stewed very slowly in oil. She doesn’t say how much oil (much like some of my own recipes here, I think you have to figure out quantities by experience) but the author of the recipe pictured above is more explicit and uses a total of six tablespoons of olive oil. If you want stage by stage with pictures check his out. Elizabeth Davids recipe does not include Zucchini, but she says of her list of ingredients “usually” and most recipes seem to include them routinely, however, it shows that cooking is never set in stone and once you have a principal under your belt, then adapt, make a fusion with your own favourite ingredients – go forth boldly! Here though is Elizabeth David’s recipe with the addition of Zucchini, garlic, and herbs – my additions [like so]..

Ratatouille

1. 2 large onions, 2 aubergines, 3 zucchini, 3 or 4 tomatoes, 2 red or green pimentos, garlic, fresh basil and thyme, oil, salt and pepper.
2. Peeel the tomatoes and cut the unpeeled aubergines [and Zucchini) into squares
3. Slice the onions and pimentos
4. Put the onions [and sliced garlic] garlic into a frying pan with plenty of oil, not too hot.
5. When they are getting soft, add first the pimentos, aubergines and lastly zucchini, and ten minutes later, the tomatoes.The vegetables should not be fried, but stewed in the oil, so simmer in a closed pan for the first 30 minutes, uncovered for the last 10. By this time they should have absorbed most of the oil.
6. [Sprinkle with fresh herbs to serve.]

The flowers of Zucchini can be stuffed with a mixture of Ricotta Cheese and Parmigiano Regianno and deep fried see here – an Italian recipe. You can also make a stuffing out of Zucchini which I remember from a 1970’s magasine article where it was put under the skin of a chicken to roast. You grate the Zucchini and sprinkle with plenty of salt and leave till the water is drawn out, squeeze them dry, mix with ricotta cheese, an egg, and herbs and seasoning – you could just bake this in ramekins as a vegetarian dish…

Lastly, you can use a spiraliser or such like, to make zucchini sphagetti for a gluten-free, carb-free alternative to normal sphagetti.

With Z, we have come to the last of this year’s A2Z Challenge – whther a reader or another participant, I hope you have enjoyed the ride or maybe it should be – the feast. As well as the food, I hope I have helped along the road to eating less less meat – a choice we may all be faced with in the coming year. I will be doing a Reflections post and participating in the Roadtrip in which I will visit and review some of the sites I haven’t had time to this month – hope to see you then…