Five easy dinners for peak zucchini

By Emily Weinstein, The New York Times

Last week, we talked tomatoes; this week is all about our zeal for zucchini, with recipes devoted to summer’s low-key charmer. While I love zucchini, I do not love mushy, watery zucchini, and so it’s essential to lean on recipes and techniques that best show it off.

Don’t ignore zucchini’s other divine purpose: as an ingredient for baking. Zucchini bread, zucchini muffins and chocolate zucchini loaf cake are all worthy of your time. Next week: corn!

1. Chilled Zucchini Soup With Lemon and Basil

During the warmest days, there is no more welcome promise than a no-cook meal. A blender or food processor makes quick work of this peak summer zucchini soup, which requires no cooking and is best served chilled. Cashews thicken the soup while adding a creamy silkiness and a gentle sweetness. Since taste buds don’t register the flavors of cold foods as well as warm ones, chilled soups require generous seasonings. Here, the mellow raw zucchini is bolstered by the hefty use of garlic, miso, lemon juice and basil. The soup can be prepared ahead and chilled in the fridge for up to 24 hours or it can be served right away, chilled with ice cubes.

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 15 minutes, plus optional chilling

Ingredients

• 2 pounds zucchini, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 2 cups basil leaves (about 2 ounces), plus more to serve
• 1 cup roasted cashews (5 ounces), plus 1/4 cup chopped roasted cashews to serve
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice (from 2 lemons), plus more if needed
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons white (shiro) miso
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• Ice cubes (optional)
• Extra-virgin olive oil, to serve

Preparation

1. Place the zucchini, basil, cashews, lemon juice, garlic, miso, vegetable stock and 2 teaspoons salt in a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth and silky. Taste and check seasonings, adding more salt or lemon juice as needed.

2. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or serve immediately, transferring the soup to a bowl and adding a few ice cubes if needed. Top with chopped cashews, a drizzle of olive oil, black pepper and a few basil leaves.

2. Sheet-Pan Chicken With Zucchini and Basil

In this simple weeknight recipe, chicken thighs and drumsticks are seasoned with garlic, herbs and red-pepper flakes, and roasted alongside tender chunks of zucchini that caramelize in the oven’s heat. Torn basil leaves and a squeeze of lemon give the dish sharp and tangy notes just before serving, while the optional coriander seeds tossed into the pan lend depth.

This recipe comfortably serves two to three, but if you’re feeding more people, feel free to double the ingredients. Divide the ingredients between two sheet-pans, and bear in mind that you might need to add a few minutes to the cooking time. Add some crusty bread or rice to soak up the savory juices, and you’ve got a summery meal that’s fresh, full of flavor and an absolute snap to make.

By Melissa Clark

Yield: 2 to 3 servings

Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 pounds zucchini, sliced into 1-inch chunks (about 5 cups)
• 2 fat garlic cloves, finely grated, passed through a press or minced
• 2 teaspoons dried mint or oregano
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, cracked with a mortar and pestle or the flat side of a chef’s knife (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
• Lemon wedges, for serving
• 1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves, for serving

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, and season all over with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Place zucchini on a rimmed sheet pan, and season with a little more salt and pepper.

2. In a small bowl, combine garlic, mint or oregano, coriander (if using) and red-pepper flakes. Whisk in oil. Add chicken to the pan with the zucchini pieces and pour garlic mixture over all, tossing until well coated. Spread chicken and zucchini in a single layer, and roast until chicken is cooked through and zucchini is browned and caramelized, 30 to 40 minutes. You don’t need to turn anything.

3. Once the pan is out of the oven, squeeze a lemon wedge over everything. Garnish with basil and serve with more lemon wedges and red-pepper flakes on the side.

3. Zucchini Scampi

While scampi is a type of crustacean (also known as langoustines), the word has also come to refer to the garlicky lemon-butter sauce that drapes shrimp at Italian American restaurants. But what if you lost the shellfish altogether? When zucchini, or any kind of summer squash, is sliced and cooked only part way, they have a juicy snap similar to shrimp, no mushiness. This rendition also maintains the lively flavors of garlic and lemon, which are only slightly mellowed by the residual heat of the sauce. Eat with pasta or crusty bread, or as a side dish to any summery meal.

By Ali Slagle

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds zucchini, or other summer squash, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
• Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
• Neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and cold
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (from half a lemon)
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, mint or basil leaves (or 1/2 tablespoon chopped tarragon leaves)

Preparation

1. Arrange the squash in a single layer and sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt. Let sit for 10 minutes (and no more than 30). Pat dry with a kitchen towel or paper towel.

2. In a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high, heat a thin layer of oil (about 1 tablespoon). Add a single layer of squash, salted sides down. Cook, without flipping, until browned underneath, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a platter or large plate, and repeat with the remaining squash, adding more oil as necessary. Sprinkle with garlic and red-pepper flakes.

3. With the empty skillet over medium-high heat, add the white wine (stand back as it may flame). Simmer until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the butter and shake the skillet until the butter melts and combines with the wine into a smooth sauce. Remove skillet from the heat, add the lemon juice and shake to combine. Season to taste with salt, then pour over the squash. Top with the parsley and serve warm.

4. Vegetable Pajeon (Korean Scallion Pancakes With Vegetables)

Crisp at the edges, soft at the center and filled with scallions and other vegetables, these irresistible, comforting pancakes (adapted from Sohui Kim of Insa and the Good Fork restaurants in Brooklyn) make for a quick dinner that you can throw together on any given weeknight. It’s extremely forgiving, so feel free to use whatever vegetables you have on hand. Kim recommends finely shredded raw vegetables, or even leftover cooked vegetables. And if you don’t have the bandwidth to make a dipping sauce, a drizzle of soy sauce and squirt of Sriracha adds verve without any work. Serve pajeon by itself or topped with a fried egg or two, if you want to add protein.

Recipe from Sohui Kim

Adapted by Melissa Clark

Yield: 3 to 4 servings

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the pancakes:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup potato starch (or 1/4 cup each white rice flour and cornstarch)
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup ice water
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup finely chopped kimchi
• 4 cups finely chopped or grated mixed vegetables (carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, kale, whatever you’ve got)
• 4 scallions, cut into 2-inch-long sections and thinly sliced lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed or peanut oil, plus more as needed

For the dipping sauce:

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger or garlic (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, plus more to taste
• Pinch of sugar

Preparation

1. Prepare the pancakes: In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, potato starch, salt and baking powder.

2. In a medium bowl, combine water, egg and kimchi. Whisk kimchi mixture into flour mixture, and whisk until smooth. Fold in vegetables and about three-quarters of the scallions. (Save the rest for garnish.)

3. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Scoop 1/4 cup portions of batter into the skillet, as many as will fit while not touching, flatten, and fry until dark golden on the bottom, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and continue to fry until other side is browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with a little more salt. Continue with remaining batter.

4. Before serving, make the dipping sauce: In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, vinegar, ginger or garlic (if using), sesame oil and sugar. Sprinkle sliced scallion over pancakes, and serve with dipping sauce on the side.

5. Chicken-Zucchini Meatballs With Feta

These meatballs harbor a secret: They’re half vegetable, half chicken. More than just a surprise, the grated zucchini provides moisture that ground chicken can lack. Roast more zucchini next to the meatballs on the sheet pan, then top everything with feta tossed with lemon juice. For an easy starch, add chickpeas to the feta, or toast bread or pita on the free rack in the oven.

By Ali Slagle

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 large zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 large shallot, halved
• 1/2 cup panko
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 1 pound ground chicken or turkey
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, basil, parsley or dill, plus more for serving
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing and drizzling
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
• 4 ounces feta

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut 2 of the zucchini into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Transfer to a plate, season with salt, and set aside.