I’m always trying to find different ways to prepare zucchini, as we both love it so much. One of my favorite recipes is a simple stir-fry like this one, but the timing (and the size of your pan) must be just right, as a slight variation will result in overcooked, limp zucchini, with no bite whatsoever. This recipe from Fine Cooking follows a totally different path to the stir-fry happy-ending. Pieces of zucchini are lightly salted and sit for 10 minutes, a process that will draw out a lot of moisture and the bitterness that might turn some people off. After that, you will be on your way to a tasty side dish.
SAUTEED ZUCCHINI WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATOES AND BASIL
(adapted from Fine Cooking magazine #65)
2 medium zucchini
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt + more for seasoning
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, smashed and peeled
3 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely diced
6 fresh basil leaves, torn into large pieces
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lemon, juiced
Wash the zucchini and dry them with paper towels. Trim off the ends and quarter the zucchini lengthwise. Arrange the zucchini, cut side up, on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with the salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Blot the quarters dry with the paper towels. Cut each quarter on the diagonal into 3/4-inch-thick pieces.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Pour in 2 Tbs. of the oil. When the oil is hot, add the zucchini and garlic, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini browns and softens enough that you can cut through it with the side of a fork, about 5 min. Take the pan off the heat, toss in the sun-dried tomatoes and basil, and season generously with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the lemon juice and serve immediately.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: I have a bit of a troubled relationship with sun-dried tomatoes. The ones that come packed in oil are often too greasy for my taste, but their texture is much better than the dry-packed ones. My approach is to buy the ones in oil, and before incorporating in the dish let them rest on a piece of kitchen paper to blot the excess oil away.
Fresh tomatoes would not deliver the same punch of flavor. Sun-dried tomatoes are similar to red pepper flakes, instead of having their flavor uniformly diluted across the dish, they give you little spikes of heat. Perfect!
This was a delicious way to prepare zucchini, yet another recipe that can be adapted in many ways. Try adding roasted red bell pepper in place of sun-dried tomatoes, cilantro instead of basil, a bit of mint… Don’t omit the lemon juice, though. It is a must!
ONE YEAR AGO: Orzo with Heirloom Tomato Relish
TWO YEARS AGO: Headed to Brazil!
THREE YEARS AGO: The Rhubarb Brouhaha: Revelation Compote
FOUR YEARS AGO: Love me tender…
Bewitching Kitchen 
I never have the right sized pan so I always end up with sort of steamed, limp zucchini! Definitely have to try salting them first! What a great dish this is!
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I don’t always sautee zucchini, but when I do, I salt it first – Dos Equis, anyone? 😉
side note: Phil once went to a party as “the most interesting man in the world” – he had a beard then, and looked quite like him
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Great vegetarian dish, Sally! The sun-dried tomatoes gives the bacon illusion… Hehe. I love that!
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Bacon illusion… good one! 🙂
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A perfect side dish! Love it!
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thank you! It was very nice and goes well with lots of main dishes!
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A lovely zucchini recipe!
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Thank you! Nice to “meet” you! You have a nice blog!
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Yum! Would work perfectly with tromboncinos too, I’m sure! 😀
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Tromboncinos…. what a word, gives a workout to the tongue! 😉
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Hi Sally! Well wouldn’t you know I just picked up some zucchini from the store! I have never heard of the salting method before but now I’ll get to try it. Perfection! Thank you for sharing!
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And there she is again! I had never heard of salting zucchini either, was a bit surprised, but it works well…
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Hi Sally! This looks like a beautifully delicious dish. I have always salted zucchini before grilling them, but now I will have to try it before sautéing! Once I have zucchini’s ready to harvest in my garden I will make this yummy dish.
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Interesting… I always grill my zucchini without any special preparation – gotta try after salting, particularly if I cut the slices a bit thicker, I can see how that would improve the texture
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I love the flavor that you get after seasoning and grilling zucchini. I have sliced the zucchini either really thin or nice and chunky, tossed with salt and olive oil, left to sit for about 10-20 minutes, and then grilled! Delicious just by themselves.
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Will try that very soon! thank you!
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I’ve never heard of salting zucchini first, Sally. Then again, my family rarely salted eggplant before using but I do enjoy zucchini. If salting will improve its texture, I’m all for it. Thanks for the tip!
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Time for a scientific approach: a blind tasting! 😉 Ask Zia to help you out…
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What a lovely side dish, Sally. I make a similar dish and there’s never any left.
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We never have any left either, amazing how a simple veggie can taste great if treated nicely 😉
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I’m loving the new look of your blog Sally! Fried zucchini is one of my favorites but I’ve yet to try it with basil… I just had the most sumptuous basil curry last night (yup, we take out a lot these days ;-)) and those accents of licorice are simply to die for — there’s nothing quite like it. I agree, for this type of recipe, sun-dried tomatoes deliver more intensity plus they look so great in the mix – fiery and inviting. Yum!
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So nice to see you here! I know how frantic you are, so let me say I’m touched by your comment…
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LOL! I love what You said Sally! Too funny about salting it first. My hubs loves those commercials I will have to tell him that line. The zucchini look delicious sauteed especially with the basil and sundried tomatoes!
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We love those commercials, I sometimes wish Phil would grow his beard back again, but I don’t think that’s happening in the near future…
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Delish! I too dab my sundried tomatoes in oil onto paper, it just takes that greasy-ness out and makes it right!
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Great cooks cook alike! 😉
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You know I too have that issue with oil packed sundried tomatoes. I actually go so far as to rinse them under water then pat them dry. Or I reduce the amount of oil in the recipe that they are going in. It’s seemed to work so far. This is a delightful and fresh side dish. I just had a zucchini “pasta” the other day. They had cut the zucchini into ribbons and served it with a light marinara sauce. I’m thinking you would love it!
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Oh, that zucchini pasta dish sounds amazing, and what a coincidence it is that you mentioned – I was just searching for recipes to use zucchini cut in spirals – with a Japanese blade slicer, pretty cool gadget. A light marinara sauce might be just what’s needed!
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Hi Sally! I was your group D secret recipe club partner,and I chose this recipe to accompany some roast chicken and roast potatoes for a lazy Sunday lunch in France! Lovely blog and lovely recipe! Karen
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