Arts: You?re Doing It Wrong: Zucchini

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Brow Beat You're Doing It Wrong: Zucchini By L.V. Anderson Posted Wednesday, Jun 06, 2012, at 02:17 PM ET How do you solve a problem like zucchini? Among vegetables, it's incomparable in its bland wateriness. And yet for most of the summer, zucchini plants are to flora what rabbits are to fauna or what Ryan Adams is to songwriters: overwhelmingly, frighteningly prolific. Most gardeners and summer CSA members call on traditional methods for dealing with the glut of this summer squash, but few of them are truly satisfactory. Breaded and deep-fried zucchini is, like most breaded and deep-fried things, addictive—but making it is a labor-intensive ordeal. Zucchini pancakes (usually just grated zucchini bound with flour, egg, and a little cheese, then pan-fried) are less taxing, but rarely escape sogginess—and it's impossible to make enough of them to keep up with nature's supply. Zucchini bread, which disguises grated zucchini in a sweet, cakelike crumb, is delicious—but it, too, will hardly make a dent in a bumper crop. Sautéed zucchini, while easy to make, tastes insipid. The best solution is neither traditional nor subtle. It involves roasting the zucchini to dry it out and caramelize it a bit, then puréeing it with a heavy quantity of creamy cheese. Oh, and a ton of garlic. Basically, to solve the problem of zucchini, you have to disguise its worst characteristics, mix it with super-flavorful ingredients, and then pulverize it beyond recognition. Lest you consider this approach undignified, let me note that this soup has at least one thing going for it, image-wise: It's French ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Hey, Mayor Bloomberg: If Drinking 17 Ounces of Soda Is Bad, Why's Eating 68 Hot Dogs Good? Yglesias: Is Airbnb Illegal? The Secret To Outsmarting Hugo Chavez	Advertisement
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