Forget bikini season; it’s zucchini season.
This unassuming summer vegetable is in its prime right about now: farmers markets peddle oddly shaped ones, supermarkets stockpile the classic yellow and green, and green-thumbed neighbors hand you bag after bag of giant swollen specimens (much to your chagrin).
What are you to do with this sudden glut of summer squash? The limp tubes of green zucchini rolling around your crisper bin? The seed-stuffed behemoth your grumpy neighbor dropped on your doorstep in an act of acrimony?
While legions of cooks have dutifully sautéed, grilled and spiralized this plentiful summer veg, doesn’t it always seem like the energy in the room deflates a bit when it’s set on the table? The exception is when it’s mixed with flour, sugar, eggs, and chocolate chips and baked into delicious oblivion, every fiber of what made it ‘squash’ stripped away.
But what if there was a way to take your summer squashes, your pattypans, your zucchinis, or even your sensual, sinuous rampicante and transform them into a luxurious dish with nary a chocolate chip in sight?
I’m here for you, dear reader, and can suggest a fix to your squash woes: Zucchini/Squash and Onion marmalade.
This ‘marmalade’ takes your watery squashes and limp zucch’s, adds a bit of thinly sliced onion and a pat of butter, and cooks them low and slow until they give up their moisture and bloom into a jammy, caramelized mixture.
P.S. If you’re looking for more summer veg recipes and inspiration and want to support Black cooks, check out Bryant Terry’s Vegetable Kingdom cookbook. His recipe for oven-roasted zucchini with collard peanut pesto sounds like a lovely addition to a summer picnic.
Squash and Onion Marmalade
This versatile mixture can be slathered between tortillas for a healthy(ish) quesadilla or made into a fancy (but easy) aperitivo by grilling some ciabatta, spreading on some goat cheese, then slathering on some squash and onion marmalade and topping with herbs (tarragon and/or parsley would be delicious). While the variations are endless, here is a basic recipe.
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
7-8 small zucchini/summer squash (Pro tip: the smaller the squash, the less water and seeds there will be), grated
2 onions, cut in half and slice thinly
1 tsp salt
pinch pepper
1 tsp sugar
Add butter and oil to a large pan over medium heat. Add the zucchini, onions, salt and pepper, and sugar, and stir. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until mixture is lightly browned and caramelized, about 1 hour. Let cool before storing. Keeps up to 5 days in the fridge.
So, you’ve made the marmalade, now what?
And if you basically live in your kitchen like I do…
Here are two recipes that will knock your socks off:
Summery Squash and Zucchini Lasagna
This dish can be made two ways: the easy way, and the wind-up-cursing-your-ambition-on-an-unbearably-hot-summer-day way. I chose the latter, but for your sake, I’ve included instructions for people who aren’t masochists. The final result is decadent either way.
Enchiladas Potosinas con Calabaza y Cebolla (San Luis de Potosi-style enchiladas with squash and onions)
While you may think of enchiladas as stuffed, rolled tortillas, this version looks more like an empanada. Originating from the state of San Luis de Potosi in central Mexico, legend has it that a woman named Doña Cristina brought a bag of corn to be milled, and during grinding it picked up bits of chili that had been ground before it. Though at first, she was upset, she made do with her burnt sienna-colored dough, folding it over pieces of cheese before frying them on a griddle. Enchiladas Potosinas were born, and are now a common find across Mexico, from gas stations to restaurants. While this version differs slightly in that the enchiladas are fried in a bit more oil and contain a mixture of squash marmalade with cotija (or feta) cheese, they adhere to the spirit of the OG with a dash of ground ancho chile (sub chili powder if you don’t have dried ancho) added to the masa.
And now, a few fascinating facts about the humble squash