When life gives you zucchini & leftovers
Here at Book Barmy -husband puts together breakfast and I make dinner..we’re on our own for lunches (remember the saying? for better or worse but not for lunch – so true).
I cook most every night and usually relish the time in the kitchen, the soothing chopping, dicing and listening to NPR while I cook. But sometimes I loose my mojo and stare dejectedly at what faces me in the fridge.
Yesterday it was zucchini and one leftover lamb chop. Who doesn’t have zucchini this time of year especially my friends with gardens? There’s the old joke that the only time New Englanders lock their houses (or cars) is during summer- otherwise neighbors surreptitiously leave bags of zucchini from their gardens
So I consulted my cookbook shelves – yes I still collect cookbooks – despite the wealth of recipes online -opened The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook and found
Zucchini Ribbons with Almond Pesto
Ingredients (Note: Makes too much pesto cut back by 1/4 to 1/2)
1/2 cup almonds, toasted and cooled
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons lemon juice (I used more – 4 T)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup olive oil (I used less – scant 1/4 cup)
2 pounds medium zucchini, trimmed (about 4 medium, thin and longer if you can find them)
Directions
Grind almonds, Parmesan, garlic and red pepper flakes in a food processor until they are finely chopped. Add the lemon juice, salt and olive oil and pulse a few times until incorporated. Pour the dressing into a large salad bowl and let it roll up and around the sides.
Peel the zucchini with a vegetable peeler or mandolin and place zucchini ribbons in the dressing-coated bowl. Toss the ribbons gently (your hands work best) attempting to coat the zucchini as evenly as possible. Serve at room temperature.
Then I thinly sliced the warmed up lamb and voila – a photo-worthy dinner from the measly makings in the refrigerator – when it came dangerously close to let’s order something in tonight.
Can you blame a gal for boasting?
Really very good – a fresh take on zucchini and a success all around. My only complaint was there was too much pesto to zucchini – so recommend you either make less pesto or use more zucchini.
To keep it a bit more healthy, I cut back on the called-for amount of oil and increased the lemon juice but with the almonds it was still nicely “pesto-like”.
Don’t worry we’ll get back to books very soon.
