Zucchini - Grow and Cook

Zucchini - From Soil to Boil

As you can see, foliage can become troublesome.

I am currently undertaking a degree in horticulture and part of our course requires us to grow our own personal vegetable plot. Possibly the best aspect of the course thus far. I was lucky enough to get a really nice crop of small zucchinis from just two plants and i just love their flavor and versatility so i thought i would show you all what i did with mine in the kitchen and give you some information on how to grow them at home.

Zucchini Grow Bio

Ready to pick

Soil: Depends on climate, if planted early Zucchini can thrive in light sandy soils. If they are expected to survive a hot midsummer period then heavier clay soils should see them through.

Timing: Plant seedlings in Nov-Feb, seeds can be germinated earlier in a greenhouse.

Spacing: 50-90c apart, foliage spreads quite extensively and can crowd out other plants if you are not careful

Harvest time: 5-9 weeks, harvest when zucchinis are small but dark green, once they reach 'marrow' size they are not as tasty or nutritious.

Watch out for: Zucchinis are very frost prone, don't plant early. Also watch for powdery wildew, aphids and thrips.

My Dish

I thought i would keep it simple for this one. Just a variety of veges including the Zucchinis arranged nicely on a wooden board with some good bread and tzatziki and gaucamole for seasoning. I just love being able to pick and choose little tid-bits from the selection to create your own sandwich. The roasted sweet potato was beautiful and acted as a meat substitute in this case. Naturally you can substitute any of the ingredients but i would definately suggest trying the sweet potato and zucchinis as they made this dish.

I like zucchini butts, and I cannot lie.

Ingredients:

Zucchini

Carrot

Sweet potato

Capsicum

Avocado

Salt

butter

Pepper

Lemon

Rosemary

Store bought tzatziki :(

Good bread of your choice, nice and crusty is best in my opinion

Method:

This is a good thickness.

For the sweet potato, sprinkle a baking tray with olive oil, rosemary, pepper and salt. Depending on how thick you slice your tatoe this can take around 20-30 mins so its good to get this step on the go first.

So Easy!

Grate as much carrot as you need and place on board. Meanwhile get your zucchinis sauteing on a low heat with a touch of olive oil, tablespoon of butter, garlic and season to taste. Make sure you don't overcook the zucchini, if you have sliced them nice and thin they should only take a couple of minutes, you want a little bit of that firmness left in. 

 

Am i in heaven?

To make a really nice simple guacamole, slice an avocado in half and mash up the flesh with a fork while its still in the skin. Once you have a nice consistency add some lemon juice, pepper and salt. Don't be scared with the salt here as it will need a good sprinkle to get the flavors humming! If you are feeling especially flavor-less you can always add a little guacamole seasoning from el paso etc. (I do)

Now slice up your bread and get it under the grill, rub with garlic and olive oil beforehand for crispness and flavour if desired.

After

And there you have it, arrange everything nicely on a board or some other serving dish to give your diners that extra wow factor. Theres nothing like a nicely presented pile of veges to make you go mmmmmmm!