6 COOK’S COUNTRY • JUNE/JULY 2019
A Fresh Take on
Grilled Zucchini
Fresh, cheap, plentiful... and often boring.
Time for a new you, zucchini. by Natalie Estrada
SOMEONE SHOULD MAKE a
horror movie about a society overtaken
by uncontrollable hordes of summer
zucchini. In peak season, this vegetable
is everywhere and home gardeners
struggle to give it away. Attack of the
killer zucchini, indeed. I wanted to
write a happier script for this hand-
some vegetable, set in my favorite place
for summer cooking—on the grill.
My early experiments confi rmed
prior test kitchen fi ndings: Large
zucchini tasted dull and were much
tougher and more fi brous than their
smaller brethren. Medium zucchini
(around 8 ounces each) were sweeter
and more tender.
Since I wanted to avoid having to
move lots of small pieces around the
grill grate, I cut the zucchini in half
lengthwise (as opposed to into spears
or medallions) and began by marinat-
ing them in olive oil, salt, and pepper.
I hoped the salty marinade would add
fl avor and help pull out some of the
extra moisture before the vegetable
hit the cooking grate, thus reducing
mushiness. And here was my fi rst scary
scene: The oil dripped off the grill-
ing zucchini and caused fl are-ups that
resulted in a sooty taste. On top of that,
the zucchini was bland and still mushy.
Thumbs down.
An oily marinade was out. To
encourage the zukes to give up their
moisture on the grill, I tried cutting
a shallow crosshatch pattern into the
fl esh side of each half. As long as I
was gentle enough not to cut through
the skin, this trick worked great and
resulted in a fi rmer, nonmushy texture.
I now had perfectly cooked zucchini,
but I still needed to jazz up the fl avor.
My mind immediately went to romesco
sauce, a Spanish staple built on a puree
of roasted red peppers, almonds, and
olive oil. I threw a red bell pepper onto
the grill with the zucchini and, once
all the vegetables were cooked, headed
inside to fi gure out the sauce.
After a bit of fi ddling, I perfected my
streamlined version of a romesco-style
sauce. The grilled bell pepper provided
a great foundation. Sliced almonds
contributed a clean fl avor and blended
easily into the sauce. I added garlic for
bite, red wine vinegar for tang, and
basil for an intense herbal punch. The
sauce came together in the blender in
a fl ash.
Beautifully charred zucchini paired
with a summery sauce makes zucchini a
less scary presence during the summer
months. Stay tuned for the sequel.GRILLED ZUCCHINI
WITH RED PEPPER SAUCE
Serves 4 to 6
Look for zucchini that are no more
than 2 inches in diameter and weigh
about 8 ounces each to ensure cor-
rect grilling times. Clean and oil the
cooking grate thoroughly to prevent
the zucchini from sticking. Note that
we leave the bell pepper whole (minus
the stem and core) and grill only two
sides of it.4 zucchini (8 ounces each), trimmed
1 red bell pepper
1½ tablespoons plus 1⁄3 cup extra-virgin
olive oil, divided
1¼ teaspoons table salt, divided
½ teaspoon pepper, divided
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
1½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 small garlic cloves, peeled
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil- Cut zucchini in half lengthwise.
Using paring knife, cut ½-inch
crosshatch pattern, about ¼ inch
deep, in fl esh of each zucchini half,
being careful not to cut through skin.
Cut around stem of bell pepper and
remove core and seeds. Brush fl esh
sides of zucchini with 1 tablespoon oil
and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and
¼ teaspoon pepper. Brush bell pepper
with 1½ teaspoons oil.
2A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL:
Open bottom vent completely. Light
large chimney starter fi lled with
charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When
top coals are partially covered with
ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking
grate in place, cover, and open lid vent
completely. Heat grill until hot, about
5 minutes.
2B. FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all
burners to high, cover, and heat grill
until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all
burners to medium-high.- Clean and oil cooking grate. Place
zucchini, fl esh side down, and bell
pepper, skin side down, on cooking
grate. Cook (covered if using gas) until
vegetables are well charred on fi rst side,
7 to 9 minutes, rearranging zucchini as
needed to ensure even browning. - Flip vegetables and continue to cook
(covered if using gas) until fork inserted
into zucchini meets little resistance
and bell pepper is charred on second
side, 8 to 10 minutes longer. Transfer
zucchini to plate, fl esh side up, as they
fi nish cooking. Transfer bell pepper
to small bowl, cover with plastic wrap,
and let sit for 5 minutes.- Using spoon, remove skin from bell
pepper (it’s OK if some small pieces of
skin remain; do not rinse bell pepper
to remove skin); cut into 1-inch pieces.
Process bell pepper, almonds, vinegar,
garlic, remaining ⅓ cup oil, remaining
¼ teaspoon salt, and remaining ¼ tea-
spoon pepper in blender until smooth,
30 to 60 seconds, scraping down sides
of blender jar as needed. Transfer sauce
to bowl and stir in basil. Season sauce
with salt and pepper to taste. - Spread half of sauce on platter. Ar-
range zucchini over sauce, fl esh side up.
Spoon remaining sauce over zucchini,
as desired. Serve.
Go Small
Larger zucchini can be bland, tough,
and full of seeds. For this recipe, we call
for medium zucchini that weigh about
8 ounces each.The crosshatching
helps the excess
liquid cook out of
this often-watery
vegetable.A medium zucchini
should be about as
wide as a banana.