Zucchini squash this year are big as footballs, thanks to so much rainfall in Indiana. If you’re an apartment dweller in a metropolitan area, you’re not going to have a problem. But for those of us who live near farming communities, you can bet your bottom dollar that someone is going to proudly offer you a free zucchini, fresh from their garden. You have a choice. You can either reject the bounty, or gracefully accept it. Would you like some zucchini? Not really, but it’s hard to resist such a kindly offering.
I don’t especially like zucchini. It’s bland, watery and has very little nutritional value. Maybe some vitamin C which you can get from a zillion sources. But now I’m stuck with it. Brought it home from the office, church, senior center, or wherever they give this stuff away. So I’m going to make the best of it.
I like it raw, sliced up in a salad to give it some crunchiness. It also makes a fairly decent substitute for potato chips with dip. No, not as tasty, but you can feel good, knowing that instead of 100 calories in 10 potato chips, you’re consuming almost nothing with zucchini slices.
If you’d like to serve it as a side vegetable, you can jazz it up with fresh corn. Just scrape two or three ears of corn, combine with zucchini slices, cover with water, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Drain, add salt, pepper and butter as desired. It easy, fresh, and summery.
Let’s say you want to use it for a family meal.. Just to make sure they will enjoy it, you can prepare a cheesy zucchini casserole. (Cheese makes everything better). Serve it as a main dish for vegans, or as a side dish. If the zucchini is a normal size, you can simply slice it. But if it’s very large, you’ll want to cut it into one or two inch pieces.
Cheesy Zucchini Casserole
INGREDIENTS:
6 cups sliced zucchini, sliced about 1/4 inch thick.
½ cup chopped onion
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 eggs
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a 9 inch baking dish.
Add sliced zucchini to baking dish’; sprinkle with salt. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl whisk together the heavy cream, eggs, parmesan cheese, garlic, basil, and nutmeg.
Layer 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese over the zucchini. Pour the cream sauce over the zucchini. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until bubbly and browned. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.