Tag Archives: Zucchini

Summer Cooking Inspiration – Herbed Zucchini Noodles with Grilled Shrimp and Tomatoes

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In an effort to share more of what we love and what we cook, here is the first in hopefully a little series of summer cooking inspiration posts.

These posts will serve as just that – inspiration. I won’t have exact recipes of what we made – I will just share photos of the process and notes of what we did in hopes that it inspires you to cook something that makes you happy.

This one was a perfect summertime meal – zucchini noodles with grilled shrimp and tomatoes. We cooked this meal on our charcoal grill and enjoyed every moment of a perfect not-quite-summer evening.

Here’s what we did:

Zucchini noodles:
We spiralized 3 large zucchinis and tossed them generously with olive oil, salt and pepper. We actually cooked these on the grill, in our vegetable grate, and it worked so well. We cooked them, tossing often, for about ten minutes. Right before we pulled them off the grill, we added minced garlic and freshly chopped herbs. We used herbs from our garden – basil and rosemary. Once off the grill, we mixed in fresh lemon juice.

Shrimp and tomatoes:
We skewered the shrimp and tomatoes separately. To season, we mixed minced garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil and a ton of fresh lemon zest. We brushed this on both the tomatoes and shrimp before going onto the grill, and then again once we flipped them on the grill. We cooked the tomatoes until the were slightly blistered, and they were just perfect in this dish.

The dinner:
For putting the meal together, we just topped the zucchini noodles with the grilled shrimp and tomatoes. We didn’t do this, but thought that it would also be great topped with a bit of fresh Parmesan cheese.

One thing we would change next time is adding a bit more seasoning to the zucchini noodles. We’d probably add more salt, pepper and herbs, lemon juice and maybe a pinch of red pepper flakes. 

Our favorite part of the meal was the marinade/seasoning mix we made for the shrimp and tomatoes. The combo of olive oil, minced garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper was so, so delicious and the flavor really came through nicely in the dish. We will be making that again to put on many things. I think the key was using a lot of lemon zest – I used the zest from one large and thoroughly zested lemon.

Take a look:

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Shredded Veggie Burgers

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This is the fourth little veggie burger I’ve shared with you.

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You see, I am obsessed with veggie burgers. I’m talking homemade veggie burgers. Burgers with loads of veggies and beans and spices and flavor. And toppings. Sometimes the toppings make the burger.

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But, for the longest time, I was afraid to make veggie burgers! Yes, I was afraid. I thought veggie burger making was reserved for veggie burger gods or something. I don’t know what I was afraid of.

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shroom

So finally I tried this little veggie burger. Some smashed beans, tons of veggies, and breadcrumbs and egg for binding. Easy and delicious. That is a great basic veggie burger. Then, I got a little more adventurous with this sweet potato burger. I wanted to make a super quick, and also vegan burger. It worked! I love those burgers, with not as many veggies but with tons of delicious sweet potato. And then this corn + pepper burger happened. Because corn and summer and it just seemed right. It is similar to the first one I made, but the corn makes it even more awesome.

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This past weekend my parents came to Philly for a little visit (we had so much fun!). We did a little touring of Independence Hall and then we ate at the National Mechanics restaurant. OMG, it was so good. There were so many things on the menu that I wanted to order, I just couldn’t decide. Greg was deciding between the veggie burger and the crab cake sandwich, so I told him that I would order whichever he didn’t and we could try each others. He ordered the veggie burger so I ordered the crab cake sandwich. Our meals came out and I just stared at his burger, in total jealousy.

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That thing looked too amazing. Of course, everyone at the table noticed my stare (and shared a laugh) and Greg reassured me that we could really share.

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The burger was all veggies and no beans. The veggies were shredded. And it looked messy. It looked messy but tasted delicious. I wanted so badly to recreate it.

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So, this was my attempt, and I think it turned out really well. These burgers are awesome! Shredded zucchini and carrots with garlic, broccoli and mushrooms. Some flour and egg and that is it! They are sort of like crispy veggie patties, but I really don’t like the word “patties” so I’ll just stick with burger.

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Also, I apologize for the bun-less and topping-less photos, but to be honest, these are so good without buns or toppings! And I know I said above that toppings many times make a burger, but these needed none for me. We ate some of these burgers bun-less and all of them topping-less!

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If you love veggie burgers or even if you don’t, I think you will love these. These work great as a burger main dish with sides but would also work great as a side dish. No matter how you have them, I hope that you enjoy!

burger

Ingredients
3 medium zucchini
2 medium carrots
2 cups raw mushrooms
2 cups raw broccoli
Olive oil
1 large garlic clove
1 cup flour
2 eggs

In a food processor, shred the zucchini and carrots. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

Chop the mushrooms and broccoli. In a pan over medium heat, add about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Once hot, add the minced garlic, then the mushrooms and broccoli. Stir around, and cook for several minutes, until the veggies just begin to get soft. Add the broccoli/mushroom mixture to a food processor and pulse several times, just to break the veggies up a bit.

Add the broccoli/mushroom mixture to the bowl with the zucchini and carrots. Also add the flour and eggs. Mix well, to combine.

Add olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat and once hot, add veggies that have been formed into patties. I “pattied” the veggies as I was adding them to the pan, rather than before. Cook about 7 minutes on each side, or until not longer mushy and crispy and nicely browned. I cooked these longer than other veggie burgers just to ensure that all the egg was cooked through.

Enjoy!

Eggplant + Zucchini Tomato Pasta

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Last Friday, pizza. This Friday, pasta.

noodles

This pasta. Is so good.

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I’ve been on a pasta hiatus for a little while. Not on purpose. It’s just not something I’ve been craving. Then this goat cheese pasta happened. And now this.

kale

This pasta is fresh, it’s flavorful. It’s filled with veggies. It’s light. A big bowl of this won’t make you wish you hadn’t. It will make you happy!

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Really, this pasta has been a highlight of my day the past few days. I’ve been looking forward to it. Once lunch has been over, I  have started thinking about the big steamy bowl of this pasta I will eat for dinner. It makes me happy. 🙂

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I don’t know what it is. Because this really is so super simple. Just (canned!) tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, kale, onions, some fresh garlic, basil and cheese. And great noodles. Great noodles are key.

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I used little chiocciole noodles. I had never heard of them before. But I saw them. And thought they were cute. So I got them. And they are perfect. I cut the zucchini and eggplant the same size as the noodles so everything is just the same size and happy together. 🙂

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If you don’t think you like eggplant, you should still try this.

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It cooks up nicely in this dish. It’s not tough at all. It has the same texture as the zucchini in this pasta. It might be from the salting technique I describe in the recipe. Salting the eggplant and zucchini before cooking releases most excess water in the vegetables and helps them cook better.

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Oh, and after I made this, I read that you should not cook tomato dishes in cast iron because it will break down the seasoning. Oops. You live and you learn, I guess. I re-seasoned mine.

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One big bowl of happiness coming your way!

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Ingredients:
1 medium yellow onion
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
Olive oil
1 medium zucchini
1 medium eggplant
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 – 14 oz. cans of diced tomatoes
2 cups chopped kale
14 oz. of noodles, I used chiocciole noodles
Fresh basil, for topping
Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for topping

Start this pasta by prepping the eggplant and zucchini. Thickly slice the eggplant and zucchini. Lay them on a baking sheet and generously sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, you will see water droplets on top of the sliced veggies. Take a paper towel and absorb the water from the slices. Flip the slices and sprinkle the other side with salt. Let sit another 15 minutes and then absorb the water droplets from that side. You can read + see the method thoroughly here. This process will help the eggplant and zucchini cook better by helping them not release as much water.

While the zucchini and eggplant are sitting, put a pot of water on to boil for the noodles. Open your cans of tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Chop the kale and basil. Dice the onion. Shred some parmesan for topping. Cook the noodles once the water boils. Once the zucchini and eggplant process is done, chop them.

In a pan or pot, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to get soft and slightly brown. Add the chopped zucchini and eggplant. Cook another 5-7 minutes,  or until the veggies are soft and slightly brown as well. Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes. Stir well, so that the tomato paste is completely incorporated into the  other veggies. Cook for several minutes, until the sauce begins to slightly simmer. Add the chopped kale and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes, making sure that the kale gets soft and the the sauce thickens.

If you cook the sauce in a big enough pan or pot, stir the noodles right into the sauce and then serve. If your pan isn’t big enough to hold the pasta too (mine wasn’t), scoop some noodles onto a serving dish and then top with sauce.

Top the pasta with parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil to serve.

Enjoy!