Garlic is always the answer
Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the foodies of online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat and what to cook. This time our chefs serve you: zucchini with six cloves of garlic.
Yotam Ottolenghi, the king of vegetables, has a new cookbook: Flavour. Since he knows better than anyone how to put vegetables in the spotlight, he shares magical vegetable recipes in his new cookbook together with Ixta Belfrage. The book is divided into three parts, showing you how to use as much of the vegetable as possible and serve delicious dishes, like this zucchini with harissa and lemon.
INGREDIENTS
85 ml olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tbsp rose harissa (adjust the amount as needed, depending on the brand chosen)
1 red chili pepper, finely chopped
½ salted lemon, finely chopped, remove any seeds (10 g)
1½ tbsp lemon juice
1 kg zucchinis, thinly sliced
10 g basil leaves, roughly torn
salt
‘Zucchinis are not really controversial, but they often get a lukewarm reaction from many people, including, unfortunately, two of our colleagues in the test kitchen. The reason for this is probably the high water content of the zucchinis, which makes them – well – watery. There are many ways to counter this – frying and grilling are two – but actually, we use it to our advantage here: we let the zucchinis cook gently in their own moisture, making them wonderfully soft and giving them time to absorb the flavor of the fried garlic. (And we are happy to tell you that we eventually managed to get our two zucchini-doubting colleagues on our side.)
The zucchinis are still very tasty when hot, but they are even better about 15 minutes later, or even at room temperature, once the flavors have had a chance to get to know each other. If you want to work ahead, prepare the zucchinis a day in advance; wait to add the basil until just before serving.’
How to make the zucchinis with harissa and lemon
- Place a large non-stick sauté pan over medium to high heat with the oil and garlic. Cook everything, stirring regularly, for 4 minutes until the slices are cooked, golden brown, and fragrant. The garlic should not become fully brown or crispy, so lower the heat slightly if necessary. Scoop 3 tablespoons of oil from the pan with half of the garlic and place it in a bowl with the harissa, chili pepper, salted lemon, and lemon juice. Stir everything together and set aside.
- Put the pan back on high heat and add the zucchini slices and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook everything for 18 minutes, stirring the zucchini regularly until the slices are very tender and still hold their shape (the zucchini should not brown, so lower the heat in time). Stir in half of the basil and transfer everything to a serving dish. Spoon the harissa mixture over the zucchinis. Let them sit for 15 minutes, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and garnish with the remaining basil.
Text: FavorFlav
