Huge zucchini

The sweet old man up the road brought me a huge zucchini. I'm afraid because of its size it won't taste great. What should I do with it????

kimhw
  • Posted by: kimhw
  • July 19, 2014
  • 12934 views
  • 15 Comments
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15 Comments

CarrboroGirl July 22, 2014
I had this problem last night...I made zucchini soup! I cooked 1/2 onion + 2-3 cloves garlic in olive oil, then added the chopped up monster zucchini, water to cover and 1 parmesan rind. I cooked until the zucchini softened then blended (after fishing out parmesan rind) with my immersion blender. I added a lot of basil chiffonade, white pepper, a bit of salt, and the juice of 1/2 lemon. I served with a dollop of plain yoghourt, a drop of extra virgin olive oil and more basil. No leftovers.
 
sarabclever July 21, 2014
I am not sure if I am right about this, but I think overgrown zucchini may be the same as "marrow" in the UK (or at least is interchangeable with it?)--so maybe if you look for British recipes for "marrow" you will find something...I suppose it's big enough that you can experiment...
 
Jan W. July 22, 2014
They're different cultivars of the same species, Cucurbita pepo.
Zucchini/courgette are C. pepo var. cylindrica, marrow is USUALLY C. pepo var. fastigata, which is also the same cultivar as 'spaghetti squash'.

In the USA, spaghetti squash usually have yellow or off-white skin, while marrows in the UK and the rest of Europe are generally off-white, light green, or dark green, often with stripes or variegation.

In other words, I really don't think you can go wrong.
 
savorthis July 21, 2014
When in abundance, I grate and freeze zucchini in muffin tins. Then I can take a puck or two out, thaw and drain whenever I want some. Aside from quick breads and muffins, I really like to brown it a bit and scramble into some eggs for breakfast.
 
Julie July 21, 2014
Zucchini chocolate cake is my favorite way to use up zucchini. There are lots of recipes online, but I've tried this one (minus the frosting) and it's delicious: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/chocolate-zucchini-cake-recipe
 
QueenSashy July 20, 2014
Here is a classic from Julia Child. Make sure you scoop the seeds out https://food52.com/recipes/18672-julia-child-s-tian-de-courgettes-au-riz-zucchini-tian
 
Orangina July 20, 2014
Melissa Clark's Zuchinni Tian (http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/1014910/zucchini-tian-with-curried-bread-crumbs.html) uses up a fair bit of zuchinni and is delicious to boot. The Kitchn's Zuchinni Butter also reduces a huge zuchinni to reasonable amount of spread (http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-jennie-cooks-zucchini-b-121770)
 
mt G. July 20, 2014
A friend with a large garden slices "baseball bat" zucchini length wise into slices, grills them on both sides , and then uses them instead if lasagna noodles...very tasty
 
Pegeen July 19, 2014
This will give you the general idea. A little bit of work, but they're delicious!
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Stuffed-Eggplant-Papoutsakia
 
Pegeen July 19, 2014
I wish he lived up the road from me. Make
papoutsakia
(just google it)
Greek for little shoes. I think it's normally made with eggplant boats but zucchini would be fine too.
 
Susan W. July 19, 2014
Ha! I'll bet this is where my mom got her stuffed zuc idea. We're Greek. I'll have to ask her.
 
strawberrygirl July 19, 2014
Make zucchini bread.
 

Voted the Best Reply!

inpatskitchen July 19, 2014
Grate it and make zucchini bread or make zucchini butter:
https://food52.com/recipes/23071-jennie-cook-s-zucchini-butter
 
lem M. July 20, 2014
I second zucchini butter – this stuff is so good, be it on top of crostini with ricotta, as a vegetable side, or simply straight out of the fridge…
 
Susan W. July 19, 2014
My mom used to split them lengthwise, scrape the seeds and some of the middle out and stuff it with a good meat sauce, bake it and grate parm on top. I still do this, but with the little ones. I think stuffed zucchini was popular in the seventies. :)
 
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