The Zucchini's Are Here! The Zucchini's Are Here!

I look forward to zucchini every year.  For some people it's asparagus, for others, tomatoes.  Like tomatoes, you see zucchini in the grocery stores year round so maybe it's odd to think of them having a season.  But, just like a tomato, zucchini taste a certain way when they are eaten in season.  I saw these at the Thursday market at the Tomatero stand and literally clapped my hands.  They had the blossoms still attached too!  Double fast clapping.

As the season progresses I'll have more involved recipes but for last night I just roasted everything right up with a little olive oil and coconut oil for the squash blossoms and a new special salt I picked up at Paradise Foods.

Roasted Zucchini and Squash Blossoms

Zucchini with Squash Blossoms still attached
Olive oil
Sea Salt
Coconut Oil Spray

Preheat oven to 425.  Wash zucchini and blossoms.  Cut blossoms off ends keeping them whole and set aside.  Cut zucchini into uniform size chunks (1-2").  The ones I had were little globe shapes, so I just halved them.  Coat zucchini in olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and roast for 10 min.  Flip zucchini over and roast for another 10 min.  Take the pan out of the oven, make some room for the squash blossoms and put them on the same sheet spraying them with the coconut oil.  Put everything back in the oven for another 10 min.

The cooking times are approximate.  Just watch the veg while it's roasting.  I like mine pretty well browned with char marks on it, you may not.  I noticed the coconut oil started to smoke a bit towards the end, so in my oven (which runs a little on the cold side) it took about 10 min for the blossoms.