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20+ Tasty Ways to Use Up a Glut of Zucchini

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It's summer time and the gardens everywhere are producing zucchini, lots and lots of zucchini. 

This humble vegetable is so easy to grow that just about every backyard veggie garden has at least a couple of plants growing. They're easy to grow and prolific fruiters, but what do you do with a glut of zucchini?

Well they are best for eating fresh if they are picked when they are small and tender. 

We all love it steamed and drizzled with a little garlic butter. Or grated and added to fritters along with corn kernels, grated carrot and red onion. Or shredded and added to a pasta sauce to bulk it out, or to meatloaf and rissoles to keep them moist. 

It's handy to dehydrate to add to winter soups and stews, or to powder and add to sauces. 

Grate it and add it to muffins and scones.

How else can you use zucchini? A simple search and you'll find hundreds of ways to use zucchini, but here are 20 that are all delicious (and the recipes, including the five new recipes, are in the Recipe File).

1. Zucchini slice 
2. ​Pies with Carrot, Zucchini & Lentil Top
3. Moist Zucchini Nut Bread
4. ​Pumpkin Zucchini Cheesy Muffins​​
5. Chocolate Zucchini Cake
6. Bacon and Zucchini Carbonara
7. ​Zucchini Brownies
8. Zucchini Lemon Pie Filling
9. Zucchini Pickles
10. Zucchini Sauce​
11. Zucchini Italian Fries 
12. Oven Baked Zucchini Fries
13. Frittata with Onions and Zucchini
14. Zucchini Vegetable Slice
15. Zucchini & Banana Loaf
16. Zucchini Jam
17. Zucchini Butter
18. Rhubarb & Zucchini Chutney
19. Zucchini Salad
20. Creamy Zucchini Lasagne
21. Gluten Free Chocolate Raspberry Brownies
22. Zucchini Flour
23. Roast Vegetable Lasagne
24. Savoury Impossible Pie
​25. Vegetable Moussaka

How to Freeze Zucchini

Wash the zucchini well, removing any blemishes. Drain and dry.

Slice into 6mm thick rounds, or grate or cut into 6mm thick strips. 

Lay on baking sheet in a single layer and freeze for two hours. Remove from freezer and portion into ziplock bags. I prefer 1 cup measures as that is what I use in most recipes; bag in the quantities suited to your cooking and baking. Seal bag, label and return to the freezer. 

Partially freezing before bagging stops the zucchini from freezing in one large clump, making it easier to break off the amount you need.
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How to Dehydrate Zucchini

Zucchini dehydrate easily and quite quickly and once dehydrated can be stored in the pantry for up to 12 months (longer if vacuum sealed).

Slice into 6mm rounds and lay on dehydrator trays.

Process at 135 degrees Fahrenheit until dry and crisp. This can take 6 - 8 hours depending on moisture in the zucchini and the weather. 

Cool and store in an air tight container. If you can vacuum seal the container, even better, and your dehydrated zucchini will keep for up to two years.

Zucchini Jam

This amazing jam is a perfect substitute for lemon curd and keeps in your pantry for up to 12 months.

Ingredients
1kg gold zucchini, or peeled green zucchini, grated
Juice & zest of 3 lemons
1kg sugar
125g butter

Method:
Steam zucchini until tender (in a microwave is fine). Puree in a food processor until the pulp looks like custard. Place pulp in a pot with the other ingredients, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Boil for about 30 minutes, until the jam is thick and glossy. Pour into hot jars and seal. 

Zucchini & Banana Loaf

Ingredients:
3 cups plain flour
1-½ tsp baking powder
1-½ tsp bicarb soda
1-½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 medium bananas)
2 cups brown sugar
1-½ cups grated, unpeeled zucchini
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped walnuts

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line and grease one large or two small loaf tins.Place flour, baking powder, bicarb soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl and mix to combine. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together eggs, mashed bananas, sugar, zucchini and oil. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the walnuts. Pour into two small or one large loaf tin. Bake 45 minutes in smaller tins, or about 60 mins in one large tin, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Zucchini Butter

​Forget smashed avo on toast, try this delicious zucchini butter for a fresh flavour wow.

Ingredients:
1kg zucchini, grated
¼ cup olive oil
30g butter
3-4 cloves garlic (depending on how garlicky you like it), finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:
Squeeze excess water from zucchini (place in a clean tea towel and wring until water runs out).

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and butter over a medium heat. Sauté the garlic for 30 seconds. Add the zucchini and season with salt and pepper.

Continue to cook, stirring often, until the zucchini begins to soften, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool before using on toasted bread, or serve warm as a base for poached eggs.

Rhubarb & Zucchini Chutney

Combining two things that are often prolific in the summer garden, this chutney is perect paired with a sharp cheese on crackers, or with grilled chicken or lamb.

Ingredients
350g soft brown sugar
300ml cider vinegar
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
½ tsp salt
500g rhubarb, finely sliced
500g zucchini, grated
50g sultanas
2 onions, finely diced

Method:
Place sugar, vinegar, turmeric, ginger and salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring to the boil, then simmer, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved (about 5 minutes). Add the rhubarb, zucchini, sultanas and onions and simmer for 45 minutes until thick and pulpy. Leave to cool slightly before pouring into sterilised jars and sealing. Leave it to mellow for at least a fortnight before opening. Flavours improve the longer you leave them.

Zucchini Salad

For a fresh summer salad change, try this zucchini salad, but don't make it until you're ready to eat it!
​
Ingredients:
2 large zucchini
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1 tbsp clear honey
2 tsp poppy seeds
1 small garlic clove, crushed
salt and pepper, to taste

Method
Grate the zucchini on the coarse side of your grater. Toss them with the olive oil, lemon or lime juice, clear honey, poppy seeds and the crushed garlic clove. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or it will get too watery with chicken or lamb, kebabs or as relish on burgers.

Creamy Zucchini Lasagne

Ingredients:
9 dried or fresh lasagne sheets
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, finely chopped
700g zucchini, coarsely grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250g tub ricotta
50g grated cheddar cheese
1-1/2 cups tomato sauce for pasta

Method:
Heat oven to 220 degrees Celsius. If using dried lasagne sheets, ut a pan of water on to boil, then cook the lasagne sheets for about 5 minutes until softened, but not cooked through. Rinse in cold water, then drizzle with a little oil to stop them sticking together. ​Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then fry the onion. After 3 minutes, add the zucchini and garlic and continue to fry until the zucchini has softened and turned bright green. Stir in 2/3 of both the ricotta and the cheddar cheese, then season to taste. Heat the tomato sauce in the microwave for 2 minutes on High until hot.

In a large baking dish, layer up the lasagne, starting with half the zucchini mixture, then pasta, then tomato sauce. Repeat, top with blobs of the remaining ricotta, then scatter with the rest of the grated cheese. Bake on the top shelf for about 10 minutes until the pasta is tender and the cheese is golden. Let sit five minutes before serving.

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  • Home
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