I Tried the Recipe for Thomas Keller’s Viral Zucchini, and It’s the Perfect Side Dish (2024)

FAQs

What toppings does Thomas Keller have with zucchini? ›

Keller pairs his roasted zucchini with a flavorful, French Vierge Sauce, a fresh condiment made with diced tomatoes, herbs, olive oil and white wine vinegar that comes together in minutes.

If doing Chef Thomas Keller's method: roast for 25–30 minutes or until the zucchini are completely soft (make sure to use an oven-safe pan to avoid transferring the zucchini to a separate baking sheet). Transfer zucchini to paper towel–lined plate to blot excess oil.

Salting and draining ensures the zucchini doesn't turn into a soggy mess while frying. This method also works for roasted zucchini, grilled zucchini, or baked zucchini if you're looking to remove as much water as possible.

He proclaimed his love for this simple zucchini pasta dish "Spaghetti alla Nerano" made with fried zucchini slices, extra virgin olive oil, basil and parmesan. The zucchini slices caramelise in the deep frying process and in time soften up in the fridge so that they break down and make a lovely, simple pasta sauce.

Sticky? When the skin on a zucchini is damaged, it excretes a sticky sap as a way of healing the skin. The sap often will mould quickly due to the sugar content of the sap, but those spots can almost always be washed off -- as the sap washes away it takes the mould growing on it with it.

Mushy veggies are also often the result of overcooking. When the interior is loaded with moisture, you have to cook it for much longer to evaporate all of the water and avoid the interior having the unappealing, spongy, raw texture that eggplant and zucchini are notorious for.

Don't overcrowd the pan, which can cause the zucchini to steam instead of roast. Unless you have time to salt and drain the zucchini, wait to salt it until after they're cooked so the salt doesn't draw out the moisture in the oven—this can lead to sogginess.

Things You Should Know. If you see mold, black spots, browning, yellowing, shriveling, or wrinkling on the skin of your zucchini, it has likely gone bad. A soft, mushy, or slimy texture also indicates spoilage.

Salt and Drain: Sprinkle salt on sliced zucchini and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes. This draws out excess moisture and bitterness. Rinse and pat dry before cooking. Blanching: Briefly blanching zucchini in boiling water for a minute or two before cooking can help reduce bitterness.

Zucchini contains the water-soluble fiber pectin. Pectin may lower bad cholesterol and lipid levels in a person's blood, promoting good heart health. Furthermore, zucchini is also high in potassium, which can help manage high blood pressure.

How do you store zucchini after washing? ›

Zucchini thrives in a dry environment, so pop it into the crisper drawer whole, preferably in a plastic or paper bag with one end open for ventilation. The minimal humidity will keep it from going bad. Stored properly, it'll last one or two weeks, though you'll probably see the skin shrivel as the days pass.

There's no need to peel zucchini. In fact, the skin is a big source of zucchini nutrition (the deep green color is a dead giveaway) so you definitely want to leave the skin on. How to cut zucchini: after giving the zucchini squash a good rinse under cold water, slice off the stem and discard it.

Courgette or Zucchini

English zucchini goes by courgette in England, the French word for the green gourd. The United States inherited the Italian name, and both terms reference the summer squash. Note that the word squash refers to a fruity drink in Britain, and a mature version of the courgette fruit becomes marrow.

Zucchini, yellow squash, and crookneck squash all have completely edible skin and seeds. Pattypan squash generally has edible skin, but the larger the squash the tougher the skin is. Take the time to roast a larger pattypan so the skin becomes softer, and you may want to remove the large seeds.