Pretend Apple Pie

I received this recipe in an email from a baker who once worked at Deer Valley. The note says that this is a really great pie that tastes just like apple pie but you use zucchini instead and no one can tell it’s not apple!! I couldn’t resist posting it. Though there was no zucchini in our box this week I am sure it won’t be hard to find.

5-6 cups zucchini, peeled, seeded, and sliced

2 tablespoons frozen apple juice concentrate

1 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix  zucchini and remaining ingredients together and put into an unbaked pie shell.

Top with a second crust or a streusel crumb topping.

Bake 45 to 60 minutes or just like you would an apple pie.

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100 Zucchini Recipes

Well John did it again–zucchini in the box. I hope the 3 recent recipes help but this zucchini page can send you to even more–and they are all blogs–mostly food blogs. Amazing.

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Zucchini Carpaccio

Make this salad when your zucchini are very fresh, like immediately from the garden or the CSA box, and use the smaller ones, saving those biggies for something else.  Cut the squash slices thinly, thin, thin, with a sharp knife, or a Japanese Benriner slicer or a French mandolin. Carpaccio, by definition, is an Italian appetizer–thin shavings of raw beef drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice.  This is a vegetarian interpretation–thin shavings of garden fresh zucchini. My friend Ginger serves three types of impeccably fresh squash– zucchini, pattypan and yellow, artfully laid in concentric circles on a platter, served family style, to guests at outdoor summer weddings. Ginger owns Orchard House Catering in Hood River Oregon, and works at Deer Valley in the winter.

4 small zucchini

1/3 cup loosely packed basil (and/or cilantro) leaves

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup pine nuts, raw or very lightly toasted, optional

6 ounces fine quality aged Italian cheese, such as Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano

Thinly sliced tips of 1 zucchini blossom, optional

Cut the zucchini into paper-thin slices. Arrange slices, overlapping slightly, on a serving platter or 4 salad plates.

Cut chiffonade slivers of basil and cilantro leaves, and sprinkle over the zucchini.

Drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice on top and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Let stand about 10 minutes to soften the zucchini and let the flavors develop.

Just before serving, sprinkle with the pine nuts and drop shaved cheese over all.

If you have a squash blossom, garnish with slices of that.

Makes 4 servings.

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Grilled Zucchini Ribbon Pasta

View of Ranui from Hoyt Peak

Our high-altitude CSA is beginning to reap the benefits of a warm summer–this being our first week for basil and second for zucchini. We are lucky that our mountain night temps are cool and will refresh a kitchen hot from baking and cooking–but outdoor grilling and simple pasta do little to heat the house in the first place. So pre-heat a grill to high and bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove.

1 or 2 zucchini, depending on size, (about 2 pounds)

Extra virgin olive oil, as needed

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tabelspoons sherry wine vinegar or fresh-squeezed lemon juice

8 ounces fettuccini noodles

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts of chopped walnuts

1/4 cup fresh sweet basil, cut in 1/4-inch chiffonade

1/2 cup grated Parmesan or similar aged cheese, optional

Trim the ends from the zucchini. Slice it, lengthwise and thinly, about 1/8-inch thick. Brush the lengths with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the zucchini quickly, about a minute on each side, until it wilts into tenderness and has light grill marks. Sprinkle with the vinegar and set aside.

Add salt to the boiling water, and cook the pasta until it is tender yet still firm to the bite. Drain and toss with the zucchini, nuts, basil and cheese, if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Makes about 6 servings.

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