Zucchini with garlic crispies

The Story

Zucchini tends to be a divisive ingredient. Although it is well-known for turning soft and mushy (which don’t get me wrong, I’m kind of here for), when cut in robust pieces and cooked over high heat, zucchini stays gloriously al dente in the center.

I first saw zucchini prepared this way when I was working at Blue Smoke, a BBQ restaurant from the Union Square Hospitality Group in New York City. In their version, the chunks of zucchini were dressed simply in lime and garlic, which magically cut through all the slow-cooked meats emerging gloriously from their in-house smoker.

In my version, I pair the seared zucchini with nubbins of toasted garlic and a zingy dressing, which I often serve as a side dish alongside fish or meat like this pan-roasted chicken, but you can also give the zucchini a starring role served over rice. With zucchini like this, it’s time to give this vegetable a chance and give it the spotlight it deserves on your dinner table.

Difficulty: 1 on a scale of 1-5

Active time to prepare: 30 minutes

Total time to prepare: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

The Ingredients

3 zucchinis

1 tsp./2 g salt

cracked black pepper

1/4 cup/54 g + 3 Tbsp./41 g olive oil

5 cloves garlic

Zest (1 Tbsp./6 g) and juice of 1 lemon (1/4 cup/58 g)

1 tsp./2 g Calabrian chili paste

1 small bunch fresh parsley

The Recipe

1. Remove the two ends from the zucchini. Cut across in intervals of around 5 cm (2 in approx), cutting each section in half in each direction (looking above on the round end, the two cuts should create a cross through the center of the zucchini).

2. Heat a large skillet over high heat, and add 2 tbsp of the olive oil. When the oil begins to slightly smoke, add half of the pieces of zucchini, and season with salt and pepper. Cook both cut sides, as well as the skin side, until deeply golden brown, but still al dente.

   *NOTE: resist the temptation to move the zucchini. You should only move it twice, flipping it to cook the other sides (this promotes a more even browning and prevents you from steaming the zucchini turning it to mush). This should take around 5 minutes.

3. Add the cooked zucchini to a bowl.

4. Add 2 more tbsp of olive oil and repeat steps 2 and 3 with the rest of the zucchini.

5. Peel the garlic. Cut them into small chunky pieces, ensuring to try and keep all of the pieces more or less the same size.

   *NOTE: To do so, I cut each clove across from end to end horizontally and vertically. Then, I cut across to get chunky pieces.

6. In a small sauce pot, add the last 3 tbsp of olive oil and heat over medium heat.

7. Add the garlic and cook until it turns a light golden brown.

   *NOTE: DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THIS. The garlic can go from brown to burnt in no time. This should take around 1 and a half to 2 minutes.

8. Remove the heat and add the lemon zest, Calabrian chili paste, and lemon juice.

   *NOTE: Feel free to use more Calabrian chili paste if you want to bump up the spice factor.

9. Add the garlic mixture to the bowl with the zucchini.

10. Roughly chop 1 small bunch of parsley and add to the bowl with the zucchini.

11. Mix gently and serve.

LEFTOVERS: The zucchini will stay good in the refrigerator for 5 days.