Zucchini recipes, the summer's queen vegetable.

The beautiful season is now just around the corner, and we at Spaghetti&Mandolino couldn't help but suggest recipes with zucchini. In fact, it is the summer vegetable par excellence. Whether stuffed, fried, or simply as a side dish, zucchini is the queen of summer dishes. Let’s take a look at some delicious and simple original recipes. Check out our proposals!

Recipes with zucchini: quality is synonymous with goodness

Before we begin, let’s clarify a key concept: how to choose zucchini? At the supermarket or from the greengrocer, it's not always easy to navigate. The first piece of advice to follow, in general, and not just for zucchini, is to buy seasonal fruits and vegetables. Besides being good for the environment (choosing seasonal vegetables also implies significant savings and reducing pollution from transport), the vegetables picked according to the season are tastier and rich in nutrients, which are often lost with intensive greenhouse farming. Therefore, choose local and organic vegetables from what the land offers during this time of year.

On our website, in the Fresh Vegetables section, you can find the best Italian vegetables. We obtain them from specially selected growers, favoring short supply chains. This way, fresh fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers are easily available online.

Now let’s move on to our zucchini, typical vegetables of the beautiful season and incredibly tasty. When choosing them, you should consider three factors: color, shape, and texture. If you want sweet zucchini, they should be small and light-colored. As for texture, prefer firm zucchini that aren't flexible. If they easily bend, they are clearly old!

Recipes with zucchini, the queens of Italian cuisine

In our kitchen, the recipes with zucchini are truly numerous, and it's no surprise. It is a fresh and versatile vegetable, very delicate, rich in water and minerals, and contains very few calories. Perfect steamed, boiled, grilled, or fried, they are ideal for adding flavor to sauces, main courses, and salads, possibly adding fresh ingredients or dried fruit. 
Therefore, given the versatility of this ingredient, it's no wonder that there are many recipes with zucchini to create delicious dishes. Let’s take a look!

Baked zucchini recipes

The baked zucchini recipes are really many and also quite simple (and truly delicious!). 
The first recipe, for about four people, is gratin zucchini. You’ll need four zucchini, 40g of parmesan or pecorino cheese (check out our site in the cheese section, where you’ll find delicious examples of aged cheeses including pecorino and cow's milk cheese), 50g of breadcrumbs, a handful of cherry tomatoes, salt, oil, pepper, and basil. Rinse the zucchini well and cut them in half lengthwise. Arrange them on a lightly greased baking sheet or on a sheet of parchment paper. Sprinkle with cheese and breadcrumbs, and season with salt and pepper, then cut the tomatoes into quarters and add them. Bake for half an hour at 180 degrees. Add a few basil leaves before serving, you’ll see the aroma.

Another delicious recipe is parmigiana, definitely one of our favorite zucchini recipes. Well, parmigiana is parmigiana! The recipe, for four people, requires 700g of zucchini, 60g of parmesan, two mozzarellas, a bit of 00 flour for breading, 700g of tomato puree, half a onion, extra virgin olive oil, oil for frying, salt, pepper, and fresh basil. The recipe is somewhat like an assembly line: first, prepare the sauce. Pour a drizzle of oil and add the chopped onion, letting it sauté for five minutes on low heat. Add the puree and half a glass of water. Season with salt and let it cook for about half an hour on low heat, remembering to stir occasionally. 
In the meantime, wash the zucchini, dry them, then trim the ends and cut them into slices of about half a centimeter. Heat the oil for frying in a pan, and while it's heating, dredge the zucchini in flour. Then, fry them in hot oil and remove the slices once golden. Collect them with a slotted spoon and place them on a plate lined with absorbent paper to absorb excess oil. Once all the slices are fried, cut the mozzarella into cubes. Now, assemble the parmigiana: take a baking dish and put two tablespoons of tomato sauce at the bottom, spreading the sauce with the back of the spoon.
Neatly arrange the zucchinis side by side and cover with a layer of tomato sauce, a sprinkle of grated Parmesan, a few mozzarella cubes, and pepper. Create another layer of zucchini and repeat the process until you're out of ingredients. Bake in a preheated static oven at 180° for 30 minutes. Then remove from the oven and let cool, adding a few basil leaves. The zucchini parmigiana will be excellent hot or cold. 

Recipes with round zucchini

There are many varieties of zucchini, which is why it’s right to mention recipes with round zucchini.  And what better way to celebrate them than by stuffing them? For the stuffed round zucchini, you will need four round zucchinis, one mozzarella, one egg, 60g of Parmigiano Reggiano or pecorino, 80g of mortadella or cooked ham, three tablespoons of breadcrumbs, extra virgin olive oil to taste, half a onion, and salt. For the ingredients, take a look at our selection of fresh products, you’ll find everything you need, including eggs and various types of fresh cold cuts. First, boil the zucchini in lightly salted water for about 5 minutes.
Drain them, let them cool slightly, and then cut off the tops. Using a teaspoon, scoop out the insides and collect the pulp.
In a non-stick pan, sauté the chopped onion and heat slightly. After a couple of minutes, add the insides of the zucchini that you previously chopped and sauté everything for a few minutes. Once cooled, add the grated cheese, breadcrumbs, egg, and mix the mixture. Add the diced mozzarella and chopped cold cuts and mix.
Fill each zucchini with the mixture and lay them in a baking dish. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and extra virgin olive oil and bake the zucchinis for thirty minutes at 180/200°. And there you have it! Ready to serve, they are delicious both hot and cold. A must-try!

Quick zucchini recipes

In summer, not everyone wants to cook extensively, so here are some quick zucchini recipes. The first suggestion is zucchini rolls with speck and stracchino. The recipe for two people requires two zucchini, about ten slices of speck, 100g of stracchino, oil, salt, and pepper. If you want a lighter version, replace the stracchino with ricotta. 
First, cut the zucchini lengthwise: be careful during this operation as the slices should not be too thin or too thick (the ideal would be slices of about 5mm). Try using a slicer to help you. Then, grill the zucchini. Meanwhile, prepare the stracchino and season with salt, oil, and pepper, and if you want a fresh aroma, add some chopped mint. If you have the speck in pieces, slice it thinly. Allow the zucchini to cool, then spread the stracchino and place a slice of speck on top. Finally, roll it up and secure with a toothpick. And there you have it! A simple and fresh idea to serve on a bed of arugula with some cherry tomatoes on the side.

Another option, if you're looking for recipes with zucchini that serve as a main dish, could be a nice zucchini and shrimp salad. For four people, you will need 350g of shrimp, a couple of zucchini, two carrots, a bit of spinach, lemon, oil, salt, and pepper. 
Cut the vegetables into julienne strips and sauté the carrots and zucchini, along with the shrimp, in a pan for a few minutes, until the vegetables are softened but still firm and crisp and the shrimp are cooked. On the side, wash the spinach, and once the vegetables and shrimp have cooled, combine everything, seasoning with salt, pepper, and a splash of lemon. To give the dish a more oriental taste, cook the vegetables in the pan with a tablespoon of soy sauce and enrich the salad with sesame seeds. 

Zucchini recipes as a side dish

We must not forget the zucchini recipes as a side dish, particularly the most famous of sides, namely zucchini alla scapece. 
This tasty recipe, typical of Naples, calls for half a kilo of zucchini, 70g of oil, two garlic cloves, 40g of white wine vinegar, mint to taste, oil for frying, salt to taste, and black pepper to taste. First, wash the zucchini and dry them. Trim the ends and cut them into rounds. Place them in a colander and mix with 20g of fine salt, covering with a cloth to let them lose water. Leave them like this for at least 30 minutes. Then, rinse and dry them well. On the side, pour oil and white wine vinegar into a bowl, then add a bit of salt, the washed and chopped mint, the chopped garlic cloves, and pepper, then mix. 
Separately, heat the oil for frying and fry the zucchini until golden brown. Prepare a shallow baking dish where you will lay down a layer of dressing. Then drain the zucchini and pour them hot into the dish, sprinkling with dressing and continuing to layer. Let cool for at least a couple of hours, and there you have it, a delight!

So, how many of these dishes have you already tried? We can't really choose our favorite; they are all so good! One thing is certain: what ensures the success of your zucchini recipes are the quality ingredients. Check out our website: you’ll find the best all-Italian products that will be delivered directly to your home. All you have to do is try them!

Maria Nardone

S&M