Marinated Zucchini and a BZT

My garden isn’t quite as bounteous as I’d hoped it to be at this stage in the game. I haven't harvested enough tomatoes at once to make a single batch of Finny's Best Tomato Sauce Ever. Which is sad, because that stuff is incredible.

The one saving grace are the zucchini plants which, despite their tiny size, are doggedly producing pounds and pounds of fruit. If I walk away for a couple of days those suckers can go from several inches to almost a foot.

And my favorite way to serve these guys, you may be wondering?

Sliced and marinated in a homemade vinaigrette. It’s that simple. And so very tasty.



Jenny’s man came up with the original recipe and I’ve tweaked it a bit based on my preferences. The key is to slice them very thin, almost translucent.

They’re great in salads and absolutely fantastic on sandwiches (they add so much flavor in fact, that you can even skip the mayonnaise).

Even the kids in our family will eat these just plain as a side. And you can adjust the flavors to go with the rest of the meal. Jeff’s dad, who hates zucchini, even claimed to like them, but it might have been because the kids were listening. You never can tell with him.

The best use of these marinated zucchini that I've found, though, is as a replacement for L.



What follows is a recipe for the zucchini, not the BZT because of the simple fact that most people know how to stack ingredients on a piece of bread, which makes a recipe somewhat unnecessary. (I must point out, though, the lack of mayo on this sandwich. You won't miss it. Trust me.)

Ingredients (for standard recipe)
-2 T red wine vinegar
-pinch of salt
-a couple of grinds of black pepper
-2 T olive oil
-1 medium sized zucchini

How To
-Slice the zucchini super thin and put in a bowl (or a mason jar if you have one, which I always do).
-Sprinkle with salt, pepper and any other herbs or spices you’re using.
-Drizzle with the vinegar and stir (or put on lid to mason jar and shake) until it’s all well coated.
-Let sit for 5 minutes or so and then drizzle with the oil. Stir again.
-Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more oil if it’s too sour, more acid if it’s too bland and more spices as necessary.
-You can store this in the fridge for several days (see aren't you glad you used that mason jar?). I suggest making smaller batches of different flavors every now and then.



Variations
-Instead of slices, you could cube them. These are really good on salads. You'll need to let them sit longer in the vinegar this way, shaking every now and then.
-Instead of the red wine vinegar, you can use another acid like lemon juice, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar- all will work, depending on the flavors in the rest of the meal.
-Instead of the olive oil consider more neutral oils like canola and grapeseed. Extra virgin olive oil doesn’t always play nice with other flavors.
-Try adding other herbs and flavors like the one below.

Mexican Variation (this is based on a recipe by Rick Bayless)
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. vegetable oil (I don’t like olive oil in this recipe)
Pinch of dried oregano
Half a clove of garlic, minced
Pinch of chili powder
1/8th t of adobo sauce (this is the sauce that chipotle chiles come packed in)