Gyro-Style Zucchini Sandwiches

I had one of those moments where I said, "More zucchini?  ^^ Oh!  Thanks! ^^"  (Yes, those are my sarcastic eye-brows.)

And uhhhhhhhhh..........

I have come to realize - zucchini is the tofu of the vegetable world.  You can make it almost whatever you want it to be.  But MAKE is the key.  You must MAKE it into what you want.
So this time, I will make it into a tasty sandwich.  Today, next week, and a couple of times in the future.

Now it was time to press on.
Several of them were grated for their role in zucchini pancakes and Mexican chocolate zucchini bread, but there is still more zucchini coming!

And it's not just one kind of zucchini.  It is many kinds of zucchini - 

Oh yeah, and summer squash - the zephyr yellow green (above) and the patty pan (below).

And dinner.  It is time for dinner.  And I have a thing about zucchini that's only been cooked enough to be hot, but the zucchini is soft... and to my tongue... slimy.  I like to get the excess water out of my zucchini.  (Unless it is tiny - then char and eat crunchy!!!)

What the heck - lets go for something where it is so dry, it is pleasantly chewy.  Gyros.  And that means I get to use the one herb that loves my yard - oregano.

All righty then.  I sliced my zucchini into rectangles.

This was the 3 zucchini in the 3rd picture.
I cut off the crooknecks and they
went into the tomato relish.

So - start taking the water out with a marinade and drain.

Salt, pepper, onion powder.
Alternate zucchini and sprinkle of seasoning mixture

Zucchini draining marinade: sprinkle a mix of 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper and 1 tsp of onion powder.  Zucchini, sprinkle, layer zucchini, sprinkle etc.....

The salt and onion powder are both very good at sucking water out of the zucchini, while adding flavor.

And after an hour of draining I pulled out the zucchini slices.  I did use my fingers to strip off most of the spices so they wouldn't be too salty.

I tossed the drained zucchini with a little olive oil, chopped garlic and oregano.  And then grilled the heck out of those drained zucchini slices. 

Zucchini Grilling Toss:
oil - 2 tsp
garlic - 2 cloves
oregano (& basil or parsley) small handful, chopped

I love my cast iron griddle.
These slices will cook just as well in a skillet
or on the grill - as long as they are thick enough. 

As far as I'm concerned, half the experience of gyros are the sauces - and I love an excellent tzatziki.

"Traditional" tzatziki always contains yogurt (thicker the better - check), cucumbers (check), some acid (lemon juice or maybe vinegar - check), often chopped garlic (check) and herbs (often dill and/or mint - welllllllll...........)

So I did a little digging, and it turns out the actual combination of herbs is less important.  Tzatziki, it turns out, belongs to a Mediterranean family of sauces that contain thick yogurt, cucumber, acid, (sometimes garlic) and herbs (also cacik, jaj, or even tarator - hey I bet tatar sauce has some history with....  And while raita - of Indian origin with yogurt, cucumbers, garlic & salt, but often has chilies in it, I can't believe it has no relation.)  So the fact that I had no dill or mint, but instead parsley, oregano and cilantro presented no problem.

Summer Tzatziki (cacik, jaj, tarator or mild "no chili" raita) 

can be thrown together this way:

Ingredients:

cucumber - 1 medium

garlic - 1-2 cloves (you decide)

lemon juice* or vinegar 1-2 tsp (you also decide)

salt (& pepper if you like) to taste

tender leaf herbs (anything you'd eat out of hand*) a handful or 2.

Equipment:

knife

cutting board

bowl - for draining

bowl - for serving

Prep:

Peel the cucumber and chop into cubes about the size of the top joint of your pinky (under 1/2", close to 1/4"), sprinkle with about 1/2 tsp of salt and let it sit for about 30 - 60 min.

Cook:  

Quickly rinse the cucumber, and squeeze it dry in a paper towel or two.  Stir the cucumber

Chop the garlic and herbs.

Stir them into the yogurt.  Add lemon juice/vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

This will keep for a week and a bit in the fridge.  But you'll likely eat it all up - on this, and crackers, pretzels and as a dressing.  (It can be thinned with dairy, oil or vinegar & oil)

(Nom, nom, nom... sampling, sampling.  No really!  This is for research.)

*tender leaf herbs - these are the things you'd chop up and happily eat raw.  Basil, sorrel, parsley, cilantro, dill, fennel, chives, mint and the like.

*******

Half way there.  

Since I was serving this to my raw tomato hating husband... but I wanted the sweet/acid punch of tomato along with the herby, creamy yogurt, I had to come up with...

Sundried Tomato Relish

Ingredients:

1/4 C sun/oven dried tomatoes packed in oil

1/4 C roughly chopped zucchini (this is where those crook neck pieces went)

1 tsp (or so) white balsamic vinegar (champagne or cane juice vinegar will sub in.  Or rice vinegar in a pinch)

salt & pepper to taste

Equipment:

blender

Blend the tomatoes and zucchini together.  Then adjust the sweet/sour balance with the vinegar, and add just enough salt and pepper to make it taste delicious.  This will be pretty thick and spreadable, and good for this sandwich and many others.

*****

Then all you need is the warmed pita bread, add the grilled, spice zucchini, tzatziki, tomato relish and even a confirmed carnivore will enjoy.

Pro Tip: As long as you state Up Front that this is a Zucchini Sandwich in the gyro style, even Total Carnivores will be happy.  Only people who feel like they've been fooled will be annoyed.  And even they might forgive you.

P.S. For make ahead fans:  This zucchini can fridge or freeze and then be heated in the toaster or re-roasted in the oven... and still work!

P.P.S.  Some people feel that a tahini drizzle is essential for a true gyro experience.  I'm on board.  In fact, I have a recipe.  Drizzle away.  (Tahini is part of umami heaven).

Tahini Drizzle: for extras

Tahini - 2Tbs (or 3 Tbs sesame seeds ground to paste)

garlic - 1 clove crushed or minced

salt - 1 pinch

oil - 2 tsp (olive is best)

lemon juice - 2 tsp (or cider vinegar)

parsley (optional) - healthy sprinkle

Grilled Salad - Get me outta' the kitchen!

Why am I sweltering away in my hot kitchen when the cool evening breezes are starting to waft about my shady back deck?

Yeah - I don't have an answer either.  So it is time to head out to the grill for dinner.

The Oxbow Box provided me with my new favorite lettuce, Little Gem.  It makes me think of a mini Romaine - it has that sweet crunch, but in a more manageable size.  One thing that is fun (and tasty) with Romaine is grilling it until the cut side has black char marks.  The contrast of the sweet and charred is delicious.  I thought, since I was heading out of the kitchen, this would be the way to go!

Detour:
To go along with this - I did the butterflied/spatchcocked chicken.  By flattening the chicken it cooks quickly.  And rubbing a mixture of salt, pepper, chopped garlic, lemon juice and zest + a little oil under the skin and over the meat makes the chicken scrumptious, both hot, and cold as 2nd meal food the next day.

The first few time you flatten the chicken... it may take a little while, but after a few tries, the prep & the cooking will take less time than running out to get a rotisserie chicken.  (Check out this great, old school, instructional video - by one of the masters, Jaques Pepin.  You'll learn several great things.)

Back on Track:
So get out those Little Gem's, and slice them in half.

You can get them all washed off and any grit out this way.
Give them a firm shake to get the water out.

Rub them a little oil on all the surfaces (put about a 1/2 tsp in you hand, rub your hands together and then rub your hands over the lettuce halves.  You'll get everything covered, and use less oil this way).

Pull out the Patty Pan squash (or zucchini, or other summer squash),

slice into pieces about half the width of your pinky (1/8 inch or so), toss with a little salt and oil, and these are ready to go.

A hot grill is your best friend here.

Grill those veggies until they have distinct black marks - this will bring out their sweetness, and give them a delicious texture.

All you need now is delicious, cooling dressing to pull it all together.

Yogurt Dressing for Grilled Salad 

Ingredients:
thick yogurt (greek or drained regular) 1/2 C
parsley
dill or basil
garlic - 2 cloves
lemon juice or white wine vinegar 1-2 Tbs or to taste
salt & pepper to taste

Equipment:
small bowl
cutting board
knife
spoon

Prep & Cook!
Chop the herbs and garlic.  Stir them into the yogurt.  Start with 1 Tbs of the lemon juice/vinegar and a good pinch of salt and pepper.  Adjust the acid, salt and pepper to your taste.

All together now!

So quick note...

What if you have a grill with huge spaces between the grates?

Like I do.

Lodge Cast Iron to the rescue!  (No, they have no idea I'm mentioning this - it is just that good).  These pans are pretty indestructible.  You cannot damage them, no matter how hot your charcoal gets.  I mean, if you are trying to grill over lava (2100˚F), you have other things in mind, and I can't help you.

To cook smaller and more delicate things, I don't go in for some of these silly baskets, or breakable, rustable things.  I break out my big slab of cast iron.

 It preserves the grill experience, and I can use it on the stove as well.  (The other side is the pancake side.)

This side also works great for fish if you have something really delicate.

Oh, and if you just have a skillet

 bring it out the the grill instead.  No grill marks, but same great char - and OUT of the kitchen.

Cabbage Rolls - Updated

Hot Summer is here - and while the fruit is the star, all that sun grows amazing green stuff.
I have my paws on my OxBow Box and it is full of beautiful summer greens with a definite Italian theme.

My favorite sleeper produce of the summer is cabbage, and not just any cabbage, Savoy cabbage.

Here are these babies getting clean and crisp for market.

Savoy is the wrapping cabbage of choice.  And since I got a hold of the OxBow Box on a weekend, I had Time To Cook!  And so I did.

Italian Style Cabbage Rolls
I've loved the idea of cabbage rolls for awhile, but they are a huge pain to make, and so much of the filling is... wellllllll.... bland meatloaf.  And that is so sad.

But with the combination of Italian ingredients

zucchini

fennel

and of course the Italian parsley... I felt like it was time to do something about this.


Oh... and there was the thing where the tomatoes are so amazingly ripe they peel without a dip in boiling water

Ok... these were from the Farmers Market -
but LOOK local, ripe tomatoes! 

I've just gotta do it.

I had to take on the "cutting off the vein from the cabbage."

So blanch it for about 10 minutes,

drain and let it cool, then make sure you have a Sharp Knife

to cut off the thick vein

so it rolls well.

My 1st challenge was to make sure the vegetables were so tasty they were and important part of the filling.

I browned the HECK out of the onions
zucchini and fennel.

It was very important to cook down, soften and brown all the vegetables - half an onion, a banana sized zucchini- cubed - and thinly sliced fennel.

And unlike "traditional" rolls that are filled with a raw meatloaf that must be cooked for an hour or more... these could be assembled

not too much filling

fold over one side and roll

see how the edges are sticking up?

just poke it in like an
"innie" bellybutton

And then just baked (covered!) until heated through.  (20 min at 375˚F)*


I made a really simple fresh tomato sauce - because this is the ONE TIME OF THE YEAR!!!! I can.  I peeled them, pulled out the seedy-goo, and made a purée with the parsley, some of the fennel fronds, garlic and salt.

A little sauce on the bottom - a little sauce on the top
(yes, put sauce on all of them)

I baked it for about 20 minutes to make sure they were warmed through.

And NOW I did eat it all up!

(and the other dozen I made have gone to friends and family - and now I need to make more!)

* You can also make these ahead, and keep them in the fridge for a a few days - this time they need to be baked, covered, for about 45 min at 375˚F if they are coming straight out of the fridge.

Zucchini & Charred Cherry Tomato Suace

HELLO! Zucchini.

Yup, it is THAT time.  Good news it is HOT here in the great Spongerific NorthWest.  Questionable news - here comes the zucchini.  I confess, I had long been a zucchini avoider, a “barely-tolerater”, someone who would work around or through it, but not enjoy it… until recently.

The main problem was that I’d been dealing with grocery store zucchini for years. Those zucchini can be bland, potentially fibrous flavor pits.  If not used properly they can suck the savor out of an amazing range of flavorful ingredients - stocks, Parmesan cheese, herbs.
I had never understood why, other than obligation , someone would, on purpose, voluntarily pay for and eat zucchini.

Then - I started getting farm fresh zucchini in my weekly veggie box I had to confront this food nemesis and figure out how to make it good.

It turns out... the secret is how much you cook it.  Zucchini is one of those special things that can get cooked both too much and too little.

When zucchini is tiny and tender and sweet and crunchy raw, it should be barely cooked – merely charred on the outside, and the inside should be sweet and crunchy, almost cucumber-like.  When these small sweet ones are cooked to softness, it is a pity.  So char them and eat them crunchy – that was my first revelation.

The second revelation was the bigger zucchini.  They still have that sweetness, but it is buried and must be coaxed out.  When not cooked long enough the large amounts of water makes the cooked zucchini somewhat bland and bitter.  Incompletely cooked eggplant suffers from this as well.  But that is another column for another day.

The answers for larger zucchini: cut them smaller – 

and use a cast iron or other heavy pan. 

And cook them longer. 

Cook it until it gets brown!
You've cooked off enough water
and brought out the sugar.

The results are almost unexpected; and it is the key to a deep, delicious zucchini tomato sauce you will be proud to share.

On the other hand - TOMATOES

Despite my whining, this year there are great tomatoes in Seattle.  And this year - it looks like there is going to be an amazing season!

Grow tomatoes? I confess,
totally beyond me.  MAJOR thanks to
Helsing Junction Farms of Chehalis, WA  &
Garden Treasures of Arlington, WA

And the acid, sweetness and flavor of a good tomato are more than a match for a zucchini.  IN FACT there is a whole category of Mediterranean cooking dedicated to the marriage of the two ingredients.

They also include garlic, oil, onions, pepper and/or eggplant.  Why fight such a delicious tradition?

Zucchini and Charred Cherry Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

zucchini – 2 banana sized

cherry tomatoes – 1 pint (2 cups, same thing)

garlic – 2 cloves finely chopped or pressed

red wine – ½ C

salt – to taste

oil – 1.5 tsp & 1.5 tsp & 2 tsp

water – as needed

Optionals – tasty bread to char or delicious noodles or polenta, and excellent mozzarella (worth it this time).

Equipment:

heavy sauté pan – cast iron is best for the charring

2^nd sauté pan (optional – but it allows you to work on the two vegetables at the same time)

lid or other splatter guard (optional)

cutting board

knife

spatulas or stirring spoons

Prep:

Rinse off the zucchini, rubbing off any prickly hairs.  Trim off the ends, and cut the sides to square off the sides.  Cut into 2 or 3 rectangles so each zucchini is manageable.

You are going for diced cubes.

Slice each rectangular box into slices thinner than your pinky (about 4), tip this stack on its side, and do it again so you get sticks.  Now cut these sticks into slices so you get cubes (or something like it).  The most important part is that you have small pieces about the same size and shape so they all cook pretty quickly.  The perfect cube will come with practice.

Smash or chop the garlic and rinse the tomatoes.

Cook:

(Note: if you have two sauté pans, cook both vegetables at the same time – and use the heavier pan for the tomatoes.  Otherwise, just follow the recipe.  Please don’t “throw it all in together” or the browning will not happen and it will be a very different sauce.)

Heat 1.5 tsp of oil in your heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat with a small piece of zucchini.  When the test piece of zucchini is sizzling, add half of the zucchini and about ½ tsp of salt.  Let the zucchini sit and cook for about 3 minutes – until a few pieces are starting to get a little browned.  Stir the zucchini and continue to cook it until the pieces are getting browned again – and so on.  If brown is sticking to the pan – this is good, and part of the plan.

When the zucchinis thoroughly browned and soft, add ¼ of the wine to dissolved the brown stuck on stuff.  If you need more liquid, add ¼ of water.  Keep cooking until most of the brown is dissolved.  Remove this zucchini sauce from the pan and repeat with the second half of the zucchini.  If the tomatoes go here, wipe out any large amounts of zucchini, and move on to the tomatoes.

For the tomatoes, heat up the last 2 tsp of oil over high heat.

When the oil shimmers – about 4 minutes – add the cherry tomatoes whole.  Let them sit for two minutes.  Shake the pan to roll the cherry tomatoes.  Let them cook until they char and burst.

Add the garlic, about a ½ tsp of salt, and cook it with the tomatoes until it mellows and the juice thickens. 

Turn the heat down to low.  Add the zucchini mixture back in, stir it together and taste for salt.  Add a little carefully until it tastes just right.

Sauce ready!

I tried eating this Charred Tomato and Zucchini sauce on some grilled bread

OW! That bread is hot!
Rub the grilled bread with a cut, raw garlic clove
for extra special flavor!

Mmmmm.... spiffy mozzarella over the sauce
on grilled bread.

Also - try it on some noodles.

 Wow, that is incredibly good!
(Oh yeah... and if you make a double recipe - this freezes and captures summer flavor!)