Food of the week: Zucchini

I was speaking to my roomie about a food of the week and she suggested zucchini. I was like, I already had zucchini as food of the week. I mean, if you've read my blog you can plainly see my affection for the vegetable. But, upon further inspection, sure enough, I have never written about zucchini as food of the week. What?!?! How did this happen?

This must be remedied immediately.

Benefits:

• Excellent source of Vitamin C.
• Good source of Folate, Potassium, Vitamin A, and Beta Carotene.
• Low in calories.
• High in fiber.
• Source of antioxidants.
• Good for men's prostates.
• Grow and proliferate quickly.

Drawbacks:

• Zucchini contains substances called oxalates, which in high concentrations can exacerbate kidney and gallbladder problems.
• Grow and proliferate quickly.

Ways to eat zucchini:

• One of the most simple ways to cook zucchini is to saute it in either butter or olive oil and sprinkle some parmesan cheese. (This significantly ups the calorie content, obviously).
• Zucchini works great in stir fries, pastas and soups.
• Zucchini-crusted pizza.
• My sister makes a delicious zucchini bread.
• I like to saute zucchini and add it to a burrito. (See an upcoming Recipe of the Week)

Little known facts:

• Most of the nutrients in zucchini are in the skin.
• Zucchini is a summer squash that origins trace back to Mexico. It later made it's way to Italy and into some tasty dishes. This totally explains my tendency to put zucchini in burritos!
• The zucchini is related to the melon and cucumber.
  

Recipe of the Week: Zucchini-Crusted Pizza

The Moosewood Cookbook has provided me with some delightful new recipes. All of the recipes in the cookbook are vegetarian and also quite healthy. Last weekend I decided to break it out to make a dinner for a few friends one evening. The recipe I chose for this little get-together was the Zucchini-Crusted Pizza. The recipe stuck out to me because a) I like pizza and b) I loooooooove zucchini. Here is the recipe.

Zucchini-Crusted Pizza

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Cups Grated Zucchini - I put small chunks of zucchini in a food processor

2 Eggs, Beaten

1/4 Cup Flour + Flour for the pan

1/2 Cup Grated Mozzarella

1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan

Optional: Pinches of Basil, Marjoram, or Rosemary

Plus the toppings of your choice. I included:

1 Large Ripe Tomato, Sliced

Extra Mozzarella, Shredded

1/2 of each Green and Red Peppers, Sliced

Handful of Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Sliced

Grated Parmesan, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 and oil a pie pan and coat it with flour.

Mix together the zucchini, eggs, flour, mozzarella, parmesan, herbs and 1 tbsp olive oil in a bowl.

Spread the mixture onto the pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown. Halfway through, brush with the another tbsp of olive oil.

Cool for 10 minutes, loosen with a spatula from the pan, so that it won't break later.

Top the crust with the tomatoes, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and cheeses. Bake until heated through and cheese is melted.

The zucchini crust wasn't intensely flavorful. It honestly was hard to distinguish from a doughy crust. But it was much healthier and the whole dish was divine.