Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [250]
ZUCCHINI
In appearance, zucchini is the most placid of vegetables. It has not the sensual furrows and crevices of the bell pepper, the bosomy exuberance of a ripe tomato, the playful ruffles of leafy greens. Yet it possesses more ways of beguiling the palate than can be counted. Riffle through Italian recipe books and everywhere you find zucchini, in appetizers, in pasta, in soup, in risotto, in frittate, in stews, and in vegetable dishes prepared by all the methods known to cooks. Zucchini can be boiled, baked, fried, sautéed, stewed, grilled; it can be cut into sticks, rounds, flat long slices, julienne strips, dice; it can be grated, mashed, or hollowed and stuffed. It is no exaggeration to say that when you explore all the ways of cooking zucchini, you reach for and bring within your grasp most of the processes that make up Italian cooking.
How to buy Good zucchini is available most of the year, but it has the most flavor during its natural season, late spring and early summer. Choose zucchini from a basket or vegetable bin whose contents seem to be all of a size, which indicates they come from a single lot rather than a mixed one of varying age and freshness. In Italy, zucchini is sometimes brought to market with the blossoms attached. The blossom wilts rapidly and drops off, so when it is still on and looks bright it is proof of the freshness of the zucchini.
The color of fresh zucchini may range from light to dark. What matters is for the skin to be glossy and free of blemishes. The vegetable should feel very firm in the hand. If it is flabby and bends with pressure, it isn’t fresh.
Young, small zucchini are usually more desirable because of their compact flesh, small seeds, their tenderness and sweetness, but small does not mean the size of a finger. Young is one thing, undeveloped is another. Miniature zucchini, like other miniature vegetables, are undeveloped and taste of nothing.
How to clean The thin zucchini skin is easily penetrated by soil, which is hard to detect until you are eating. Although zucchini is occasionally fairly free of grit, the prudent course is to assume there is soil embedded in the skin and proceed to loosen it and remove it as described below.
• Soak in a large bowl or a basin filled with cold water for at least 20 minutes.
• Rinse the zucchini thoroughly under cold running water, rubbing briskly with your hands or a rough cloth to remove any grit still embedded in the skin.
• Trim away both ends and cut the zucchini as the recipe requires. When zucchini is to be boiled, omit this step, and leave the ends on.
Fried Zucchini with Flour and Water Batter
ITALIANS CALL THIS frying batter made of flour and water la pastella. Those who like a crust on their fried vegetables that is thin and deliciously brittle, that does not soak up oil like a sponge, and that never falls off, need look no further than pastella. It is perfect for zucchini, but try it with such other vegetables as asparagus and broccoli, or with onion rings, following the procedure given below.
For 4 to 6 servings
1 pound fresh zucchini
⅔ cup flour
Vegetable oil
Salt
1. Soak and clean the zucchini as directed above, trim away the ends, and cut it lengthwise into slices about ⅛ inch thick.
2. Put 1 cup water in a soup plate and gradually add the flour, shaking it through a strainer and, with a fork, constantly beating the mixture that forms. When all the flour has been mixed with water, the batter should have the consistency of sour cream. If it is thinner add a little more flour; if it is thicker, a little more water.
3. Pour enough oil into a skillet to come ¾ inch up its sides, and turn on the heat to high. When the oil is quite hot, drop