Sunday, June 3, 2007

The Daily Bite: Zucchine Campagnole


June is finally here. Since I was a little girl running around the beaches of the Italian Riviera, summer has always been my favorite. I love the colors, the different smells and the beautiful variety of the fresh food available at the farmers market.
I love the sweet taste of the sun drenched tomatoes, the smell of the fresh basil and the juiciness of a big chunk of watermelon.
My summer memories are mostly related to the end of school and the long days spent at the beach, to the sweet old lady selling fresh doughnuts and rosemary focaccia and the long family dinners “al fresco”.
My big fat cat sleeping her way trough the whole season for being too lazy to move around and my old sweet dog always ready to sneak up some food under the table.

As you already know I want to dedicate the weekend section of this blog to sharing some old great family recipes.

This is a very easy one that I usually make about 2 or 3 times a week…just because I love zucchini so much! I know this is not the typical summer vegetable, since it’s usually available all year long, but I love its earthy and refreshing taste. It’s a great side dish next to any meat or fish.

Servings: 4

Take 4 medium sized zucchini and cut them in half, lengthwise. Then cut them into quarter inch thick half circles.

Heat up 4 or 5 generous tablespoons of olive oil with 4 minced garlic cloves. After a minute or so, add the zucchini, a handful of fresh thyme, salt and pepper and sauté for about 5 minutes or until they are cooked but still crunchy. I usually add a little bit of water so that the oil and the spice blend together.
Once they are on a plate, you can sprinkle some fresh grated pecorino cheese (shown in the picture) or if you prefer a more refreshing taste, they are great with some fresh mint and basil.

Buon appetito!

4 comments:

Mariana said...

Sounds yummy!
Hi, found the blog today. I had to smile when I read of your 'situation' ...New mom in a foreign land and all.
I have an 11 month old baby, Im argentinian (grand daughter of italians), but married to a dutch and living here in The Netherlands.

I dont know if this zucchine recipy is a traditional italian thing, but I remember my grandma making something similar. Havent had it in a while... you just reminded me!
Great to read you...will come back!
Ciao!

P said...

mmmm this sounds DEEELISH! I just made some zucchini the other day and it was NOTHING as good as what you have here.. i'm gonna have to try this! Great blog and idea!!!

Cool Mama said...

Hi Marian! Hi P!

Marian - I guess you get the drill...right? I mean, it's fun and stuff to be here in NYC...but I swear sometimes I wish I was back home with my mommy crawling under a blanky! (er...not, maybe that's too much!). It's just that everything is soooo much easier with your family around.

P - The dish is super easy and really yummy! It's also a great way to eat your veggies.
More grandma recipes to come....

Ciao!

Mariana said...

I miss my family so much! I had the chance to go back home last december, for about 3 months...yeah, long...but it was fantastic! so many helping hands... lets say the dutch arent very diligent when it comes to help out... well, to give you an idea, a few days after Sebastian -my baby- was born, they left for a whole month to go to France on vacations. We were completely alone (my parents came months later). Yeah, me needs family.