What to do with all that Zucchini. Produce in the Garden State is early this year. The strawberries came and went before I could get out to pick them! And local blueberries are already showing up in markets across the state.
So it’s no surprise that my zucchini crop has peaked before the Fourth of July. And of course, I planted too many. Again! With seven zucchini in the refrigerator and six more on my kitchen counter, I need some help! So I asked my fellow Jersey Biters to weigh in with their favorite zucchini recipes. There was just one rule: no zucchini bread allowed.
I’m pleased to share with you these great recipes. From main dishes to desserts, salads to sides, zucchini is what’s cooking right now in the Garden State.
Main Course:
Fried Zucchini Spaghetti, Lauren Weiss, Union County
(Recipe by Gwyneth Paltrow http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/fried-zucchini-spaghetti)
This is simple, but to die for!
Ingredients:
1 pound small zucchini, very thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 pound spaghetti
1 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
1/2 cup torn basil leaves
Freshly ground pepper
Lemon wedges, for serving
Directions: In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with the flour and a pinch of salt.
In a very large skillet, heat half of the oil until shimmering. Add half of the zucchini and fry over high heat, turning once or twice, until browned and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the zucchini to a paper towel–lined wire rack and season with salt. Repeat with the remaining oil and zucchini.
Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Return the pasta to the pot and toss with the 1 cup of cheese, the basil and a generous pinch of pepper. Add the reserved pasta water a little at a time, tossing well to coat.
Transfer the pasta to a bowl and top with the crispy zucchini. Serve right away with lemon wedges and additional cheese.
Zucchini and Basil Lasagna, Sheila Hill, Monmouth County
A twist on traditional lasagna! The tender zucchini paired with the herbs and spicyness of the sauce are a delight for the palette.
Ingredients:
2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
1 fresh basil, chopped
1 egg, beaten
3 medium zucchini, diced
¼ cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 26 ounce jar spicy tomato sauce
9 oven-ready {no boil} lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine cottage cheese, basil and egg in a food processor until smooth.
Heat a large non-stick saute pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, onion, and garlic, and saute for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in pasta sauce and remove from heat.
Grease bottom of 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Spread ¼ cup of zucchini mixture in bottom of baking dish. Arrange a layer of 3 noodles over zucchini mixture. Top with ⅓ of cottage cheese mixture, ⅓ of zucchini mixture, and ⅓ of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers twice with the remaining noodles, cottage cheese mixture, zucchini mixture, and mozzarella cheese.
Bake, covered for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until lasagna is bubbly.
Salads and Sides:
Grated Zucchini Salad, Heidi Raker, Bergen County
Ingredients:
4 medium sized zucchini, grated on medium hole grater side
2 Granny Smith apples, grated on large hole grater side
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup EVOO
juice of 1 lemon
kosher salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Whisk together liquids, toss with zucchini and apple, season to taste. Delicious!
Healthy Zucchini Cakes, Lauren Lee, Bergen County
Ingredients:
4 zucchinis, shred by hand or in food processor with shredder blade
1 T low fat mayo
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 sweet vidalia onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 egg white
2 T fresh oregano
salt and pepper
parmegiano reggiano to taste
dash of red pepper flakes
Directions: Into a saute pan or wok add 2 T of extra virgin olive oil or grapeseed oil.
After grating the zucchini, squeeze out the water with a hand towel until dry.
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix. Make into flat cakes.
Saute in the oil about 3 minutes until brown. Carefully turn over and brown the other side.
Roast in oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes while you make tzatziki sauce.
Taztziki: Into a bowl, combine drained greek yogurt, 1 clove of garlic smashed, 1 clove of chopped garlic, shredded cucumber, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and chopped fresh dill. Stir to combine.
Oven Fried Zucchini Chips, Michele Errichetti, Atlantic County
Better than your regular run of the mill chips and definitely better for you! Bet you can’t eat just one.
Ingredients:
4 small zucchini cut into round slices, ¼ inch thick
¼ cup Locatelli cheese, grated
3 T of low fat milk
½ cup of bread crumbs
¼ tsp of salt and pepper
Cooking spray olive oil
Directions: Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
Place milk in bowl and add zucchini slices. Combine cheese, salt and pepper, and bread crumbs in a large plastic ziplock bag and shake. Drop 4 zucchini slices at a time into the plastic bag and shake to coat. Repeat until all slices are coated.
Place the slices on a cookie sheet and bake till light golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Serve immediately. Move over potatoes!
Desserts and Sweets:
Pina Colada Jam, Jennifer Malme, Cumberland County
This sweet jam will brighten up your breakfast. And no one will believe there’s zucchini in here!
Ingredients:
6 cups sugar
6 cups shredded, peeled zucchini
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple with juice
¼ cup lime juice
2 packages (3 ounces each) pineapple gelatin
1 T coconut rum
Directions: In a large pot, combine the sugar, zucchini, pineapple with juice, and lime juice. Bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin and run until gelatin is dissolved.
Pour into jars or freezer containers, leaving ½ inch headspace. Cool completely before covering with lids. Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or freeze for up to 1 year.
Yield: 3 ½ pints
Zucchini Whoopie Pies, Kerry Brown, Burlington County
What a sweet way to eat your veggies! Although delicious as written, this recipe is adaptable to other flavor profiles as zucchini’s mild flavor will adapt nicely. Maybe a chocolate cake with cappuccino filling, peanut butter cake with chocolate ganache, or ginger cake with peach or matcha buttercream. Be creative!
Ingredients:
2 cups grated zucchini, with the skin on
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
Directions: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, mix the zucchini, oil, eggs and sugar until well combined. Sift together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and then mix into the wet, stirring until combined.
On baking sheets lined with parchment paper, scoop rounded tablespoons of the batter. Allow to sit at room temperature until they spread slightly or gently push down with your fingers or the back of a spoon.
Bake for 8 to 11 minutes until golden brown. Once the pies have cooled, frost one side (recipe below) and assemble the whoopie pies.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out for use (optional)
2 tablespoons milk
Combine the first three ingredients and mix well. Add the milk for the desired consistency.
Jennifer Malme is a full-time mother, sometime substitute teacher, avid locavore, and enthusiastic supporter of New Jersey wines. Her lifestyle blog, Down-Home South Jersey, explores ways to live simply and eat well in and around Cumberland County. When she is not blogging, she enjoys cooking, touring local wineries, and reading. She has never met a cheese that she doesn’t like, and she especially enjoys finding new, authentic ethnic restaurants in her area. Jennifer lives in Vineland with her husband, teenage son, and very smart Siamese cat.
Fourth of July is an American tradition of family, friends, food and libations. When it comes to which wine to select for your backyard barbeque, there are many opinions.
Rachael never seems to stop, although she did sit for a little bit and chat exuberantly with her die-hard fans at her recent book signing for her new volume, “The Book of Burger,” at a Barnes & Noble in the Princeton area.
I also tried the Adirondacker burger and adapted it my own way. The recipe calls for slices of bacon on top of the burger, but I mixed real bacon bits from Rachael’s favorite smokehouse, Oscar’s Adirondack Smokehouse in Warrensburg, NY, into the ground meat for even bacon distribution. I also topped it with their smoked American cheese instead of cheddar and YUM-O it was one of the best burgers I have ever eaten!
Taste of Rutherford, Thursday, June 28th from 6pm-8:30pm on Park Avenue. Join the evening block party as Park Avenue will be closed to traffic so the fine food establishments of Rutherford can display samples of their fine foods along with wine tastings, live entertainment and more.
Independence Day, Wednesday, July 4th, all day. Celebrate the history, government, and traditions of the United States. As a foodie, I encourage you to bask in the glory of ice cream trucks, funnel cakes, BBQ’s, watermelons and everything else we love to eat on days like the 4th of July.
Pour-a-Palooza, Saturday, July 14th from 12pm-4pm. Held at the Pour House in Westmont. An Outdoor Craft Beer Festival with 30-plus breweries and music. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. 
Ice Cream Festival, Saturday, July 21st from 11am-5pm. The 10th Annual New Jersey State Ice Cream Festival held in Downtown Toms River hosts ice cream eating contests, ice cream tasting and voting, games, rides, vendors, and food. For more information,
New Jersey Peach Festival, Thursday – Sunday, July 26th-29th. Mullica Hill, NJ. A peach bake-off, educational displays, the sale of fresh juicy peaches & peach products. It’s so peachy, you just have to be there! Also enjoy live music and carnival rides. Features the crowning of the New Jersey Peach Queen and the awarding of the New Jersey Governors Cup for the best box of peaches.
We also sampled the Pork Terrine ($11) a “loaf” of melt-in-your-mouth slow cooked pork slathered with tangy barbeque sauce and served with grilled toast and pickles. The last dish we tried was the Housemade Ricotta Gnocchi ($12) with sautéed mushrooms, basil and sheets of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. One dish was better than the next and has me looking forward to my next visit.
I’m reluctant to call this a recipe—it’s just too easy. But having made this gloriously simple “recipe” twice now and wowing guests both times, I’ve decided it is Jersey Bites worthy. If you’ve never cooked with tomatillos, there’s no need to be afraid. They may look strange in their paper husks, but they are easy as pie to peel. All they need is a rinse in some warm water to remove the sticky residue and you’re ready to roll.
After cleaning the tomatillos, cut them in half and brush with olive oil then salt and pepper them. I use no measurements and you won’t have to either. Shuck and clean the corn of all silk. Grill corn until charred and tomatillos until the skins begin to wrinkle. Remove from grill and allow to cool until they can be handled. Cut corn off of cob and dice each tomatillo half into quarters. Toss in a large bowl with the juice of one lime and a handful of chopped cilantro. Taste for salt and pepper and add more if needed. You could add a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, but quite frankly it doesn’t need it. We are lovers of hardwood charcoal, and we grill the corn and tomatillos over the coals for that added smoky flavor, which I highly recommend.
Wednesday, June 6th was the opening day of the Ventnor International Farmers Market in the City of Ventnor. The market is open from 3:00pm to 7:30pm to accomodate working people rather than the more typical early morning markets. The market is an event I am very proud to say was created by the committee in which I am very actively involved. As the Chairperson for the Ventnor City Beautification Committee, it was very satisifying to take an idea and help make it a reality. It was a very exciting process. But what made it all worthwhile was seeing all the people shopping and enjoying themselves. There was live music, Lite Rock 96.9 WFPG appearance, face painting, great fruit and produce from New Jersey farms, where else! The freshest seafood,scrumptious baked goods, gluten free baked goods, teas, honey, cut flowers and bedding plants and we also have arts and crafts people with original artwork , handmade jewelry and handcrafted soaps. Coming this Wednesday we will have Renault Winery featuring New Jersey wines as well. Plus, Fresh mozzerella cheese, infused oils and vinegars with wonderful teas and tea accessories, baked bread and foccacia. We will be adding delicious specialty items from our area restaurants and a few more wonderful vendors as the summer progresses! We will be having live demonstrations and informative guest speakers at coming market days ahead.
This is the first year for our Farmers Market which opened with throngs of people on a beautiful mostly sunny day, thank goodness! We hope to be around for a long time bringing Jersey Fresh to the people in our town and surrounding areas. Farmers Markets are a great way to bring our states heritage of farming to the people and in the process helping the farmers themselves. A perfect partnership!
Wildwood Restaurant Week, June 17th-22nd. Wine and dine in some of Wildwood’s finest restaurants. All participating restaurants will offer a complete four course meal, including appetizer, salad, entree and dessert for one low price, plus tax and gratuity. 
BrewFest at the Ballpark, Saturday, June 23rd. Two sessions: 12pm-4pm & 6pm-10pm. Held at the Lakewood BlueClaws Stadium. There will be over 100 styles of beers to taste. There will be local, regional, national, and international brews. There will also be giveaways and a live broad casting from the WRAT. For more information and tickets, 
Blueberry Festival, Saturday, June 23rd from 10am-4pm. Celebrate all things BLUEBERRY at the 29th Annual Whitesbog Blueberry Festival. Great family fun. Enjoy blueberry picking, live country music, exhibits & demonstrations, lectures & tours, great food and an array of children’s activities. Enjoy the famous pie eating contest. Whites Bogs Road, Browns Mills, NJ. 609-893-4646
Baymen’s Seafood Festival, Saturday & Sunday, June 23rd & 24th from 11am-5pm. Tuckerton Seaport. Enjoy delicious Jersey fresh clams, crabs, scallops and shrimp from the finest local seafood purveyors. Crafters, vendors, music, food, refreshments, family activities, demonstrations,boat rides, boat builders and decoy carvers. Speak with commercial fishermen to learn about occupations on the bay or take a clam shucking class.
When you think of New Jersey you think of great pizza. Yes the word Jersey may conjure up images of hair as tall as the empire state building and fake tans, but where I come from GTL stands for good, tasty, and lip smacking delicious. Being born and raised a costal Jersey dweller, I know my way around a pizza pie. I grew up on the thin crispy deliciousness of boardwalk pizza that is so big you could probably sail a boat with it. I still have joyful memories of eating my first slice of Three Brothers Pizza on the Seaside Heights Boardwalk, mainly because it was almost as big as me. Nowadays, people come from all over to get a piece of the oversized pie. After all, you don’t have to be a kid to get excited about a huge pizza.
The race for the 2012 Nature’s Plate Award in New Jersey is heating up. The Nature Conservancy has asked foodies in New Jersey to vote for their favorite green restaurants for Nature’s Plate, a contest to name the people’s choice for the state’s top green restaurant. The nominations are in, and five finalists have been selected. Now it’s your turn to cast your vote<http://www.nature.org/
