Category Archives: zucchini

Miso Black Cod and Soba

My Valentine’s date this year was my best girlfriend Gaby. I went back to DC to give my sister a birthday and Valentine’s night out with her husband. We put my two cute nieces to bed and then I made a nice healthy meal for the two of us. It went great with rose Champaign!

Miso Black Cod
1 ½ lbs Black Cod, scaled and de-boned, skin on
Salt and pepper
1 clove garlic
¼ teaspoon grated ginger
2 tablespoons yellow miso
¼ cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil

Season the cod with the salt and pepper, garlic and ginger. Spread 1 tablespoon miso all over the fish. Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium high. Place the fish in the pan skin down and cook until the skin is brown and crispy. Flip the fish and add the chicken broth and remaining tablespoon of miso. Mix the miso into the broth and cook until the fish is just cooked and the sauce has thickened.

Zucchini Soba Noodles
1 small zucchini
1 small sweet onion
1 package buckwheat soba noodles
salt
soy sauce
sesame oil

Cut the zucchini into thin julienne strips. Put a pot of water on to boil for the noodles. Slice the onions very thin to match the zucchini. In a frying pan heat a tiny bit of the sesame oil. Add the veggies and season with a bit of soy sauce. Sautee the veggies until they are cooked but still crisp. Season the boiling water with a bit of salt and cook the soba noodles according to package directions. Immediately drain the noodles and mix in the veggies. Serve immediately as a bed for the cod. Spoon the extra sauce over the noodles.

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Suburban Farming

I was just in DC to visit my family and excited to raid my mom’s garden. Every summer their suburban yard transforms into a farm. They grow tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, onions, herbs, strawberries, lettuce and whatever else meats their fancy. I took home a horde of tomatoes and zucchini and had no idea what to do with them. So I made strata. It is very similar to lasagna, but instead of using noodles, you use slices of zucchini.

Italian Zucchini Strata

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 links of fresh sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
4 links of fresh hot Italian sausage, casing removed
½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
9 tomatoes
15 ounces ricotta
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. Sautee until they are soft and translucent. Add the sausages and Italian seasoning. Break up the sausage with the back of your wooden spoon. Chop 4 of the tomatoes and add to the sausage. Stir and cook to brown. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

Using a mandolin or really good knife skills, slice the zucchini lengthwise to make thin flat strips.

To assemble the strata, put down a layer of the tomato sausage mixture. Layer with the zucchini, making sure that the zucchini fits together tight and there is no sausage exposed. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt. Then spread half of the ricotta over the zucchini and then cover with the sausage and repeat the layering process.

Slice the remaining tomatoes and place them in one layer on top of the last layer of sausage. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with the mozzarella cheese and bake in the oven for an hour until it is cooked through and the cheese is golden brown.

Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes. Being very careful, tip the lasagna over the sink and drain out all of the excess fat and liquid from the zucchini. Cut into squares and serve.