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I,ve been tossing zucchini with garlic and onion for years, but my veggie lady in the Sicilian Aeolian Islands gave me the hint of adding lots of basil at the end. If the leaves are not cooked, just wilted, they make all the difference, as does the addition of the oil at the very end, rather than cooking the veg in it. Good extra virgin oil is an absolute must.
Induction friendly… and who knows… it might just turn a few zucchini haters! Here’s the recipe for anyone who’s interested:
Zucchini ‘Trifolati’ With a Twist. (the basil being the twist)
5 or 6 zucchini
½ an onion very thinly sliced. (preferably a mild red onion)
1 clove garlic (peeled)
6 or 7 cherry tomatoes
A very large handful of fresh basil… maybe twenty good sized leaves or so (dried basil definitely doesn’t work with this recipe)
A healthy dollop (3 tbsps odd) extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
Top and tail the zucchini, halve them lengthwise, then halve again. Chop across the long quarters to get 3 or 4mm quarter slices.
Heat half a tbsp of olive oil in a deepish pan and toss in the onion and garlic. Soften slightly then add the diced zucchini. Stir fry a few mins until they are cooked, but still brightly coloured and not mushy. If too dry, add very small amounts of water when necessary rather than more oil at this point.
Quarter the cherry tomatoes and add to the zucchini. Cook for a couple of minutes. They should still be recognizable quarter tomatoes, not mush. Add salt to taste.
Add the basil leaves to the pan and heat until only just wilted. The leaves must not cook or the flavour will be lost.
Turn off the heat and stir in remaining extra virgin olive oil. It too must not cook. Remove garlic.
(If too watery, it’s better to pour off the liquid before adding the oil, than to try to evaporate it and risk overcooking the zucchini)
Serve warm as a side dish, or just on its own with crusty bread. Leftovers are great in a frittata.
Hope you like…
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