This August, don’t relegate zucchini to your box grater. Celebrate it instead with this On the Table recipe.
This article first appeared in Traverse Northern Michigan. Find this story and more when you explore our magazine library. Want Traverse delivered to your door or inbox monthly? View our print subscription and digital subscription options.
Zucchini is one of those garden offerings that doesn’t get the love it deserves. All too often, we talk about burying it in things, about keeping up with it by shaving it into breads and burgers. I was recently flipping through the section of my cookbook collection from Greece and was reminded that in Greek cookery zucchini isn’t just a featured ingredient, it’s often the headliner. A recipe spotlighting the young fruit of this trailing garden plant even dons the cover of one particularly celebrated Greek title. There’s a reason. Summer squash works especially well with hot-weather herbs, like fresh oregano, basil and mint. It benefits from the acidic nature of sour Greek cheeses, such as xynomyzithra or anthotyro. For those of us who don’t live within striking distance of Detroit’s Greektown, combining easy-to-find (and easier to pronounce) cheese like feta, a good Parmesan Reggiano and whole-milk ricotta works just as well. This August, as the invites to all those patio parties keep rolling in—you know, the girls’ night that your crew has been talking about all summer, that tennis mixer, the new-cottage open house—don’t bury the lede, as we say in journalism. Celebrate it by making these elegant handheld bites as your dish to pass.
Photo by Dave Weidner
Photo by Dave Weidner
Photo by Dave Weidner
Zucchini Coils
Makes 24 bite-sized appetizers to pass
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 egg
- 1⁄4 cup crumbled feta
- 1⁄4 cup grated Parmesan Reggiano
- 1⁄4 cup whole milk ricotta
- 1⁄4 cup chopped fresh mint, plus additional for garnish
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 14-ounce box puff pastry, thawed but still cold
- 1 pound of yellow, variegated and/or green summer squash
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste Maldon flake salt, to taste
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- To make the filling, add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet set over medium heat and sauté the onion, stirring occasionally, until it is soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the onion to cool. Meanwhile, crack egg into a medium sized bowl and gently whisk. Add the feta, Parmesan, ricotta, mint and cracked red pepper and stir to combine. Once the onion has cooled, scrape it into the bowl, fold together and set filling aside.
- Pour 1 Tablespoon of olive oil into a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, paint the bottom and sides of the 24 openings of a mini muffin tin. Working on a lightly floured surface, cut each piece of puff pastry into 12 equal sized pieces, for 24 total pieces. Roll a piece of pastry until large enough to fill the bottom and sides of a mini muffin opening. Drape a piece of the pastry into each opening, gently pressing the sides into the pan to secure. Use a small spoon to evenly divide the filling among the 24 pastry cups, spooning the filling into the bottom of each one.
- Trim the 2 ends off each zucchini. Using a mandolin or a sharp knife, cut the zucchini into long ribbons that are a scant 1⁄8th of an inch thick, about the thickness of an Amazon box. Place one ribbon inside a pastry cup, pressing it against the sides of the cup and then working it into a coil as you get closer to the center of the cup. Press the now-coiled ribbon down into the filling to secure. Repeat with all 24 cups. Use the remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil to generously brush the tops of the zucchini coils, letting a few legs of the oil drip down the outer edge of each coil. Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake until the pastry has puffed and the tops of the squash are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle the coils with freshly ground black pepper, flake salt and remaining julienned mint to taste and allow to cool slightly before serving. –S.B.
Photo by Dave Weidner
Photo by Dave Weidner
Stacey Brugeman is a 20-year food and beverage journalist. Her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Saveur, Travel + Leisure, Eater and on Instagram @staceybrugeman.
Dave Weidner is an editorial photographer and videographer based in Northern Michigan. Follow him on Instagram and Facebook @dzwphoto.
Sarah Peschel, @22speschel, is a stylist and photographer with an appreciation for all things local agriculture, food and drink.