by Julia Child
Rather than sautéing the grated zucchini in butter, use olive oil for Step 1 in the Master Recipe. Retain the shallots or scallions if you wish, and add to them 1 or 2 cloves of mashed or finely minced garlic.
Courgettes aux Épinards
[Sauté of Grated Zucchini and Chopped Spinach]
The addition of spinach gives more character to a zucchini dish or zucchini gives more tenderness to a spinach dish, whichever way you want to look at it. Substitute this attractive combination for plain zucchini in any of the preceding or following variations. We have suggested olive oil and garlic here, but you may prefer the butter and shallots of the Master Recipe. We have also directed that the spinach receive a brief preliminary blanching in boiling water; however, this may be dispensed with if your spinach is young, tender, and fresh from the garden.
For 6 to 8 servings
2 to 2½ lbs. zucchini
About 2 lbs. fresh spinach
A large kettle of boiling salted water
A colander
Following the directions, trim, wash, grate, salt, squeeze, and dry the zucchini. While it is draining with salt, trim and wash the spinach; drop it into the rapidly boiling water and boil for a minute or two, just until limp. Drain, refresh in cold water, squeeze dry, and chop.
2 to 3 Tb olive oil
1 or 2 large cloves of mashed garlic
Salt and pepper
2 to 3 Tb soft butter
When zucchini has been squeezed and dried, sauté, tossing and turning frequently, in the hot oil with the garlic. When almost tender, stir in the chopped spinach. About 10 minutes before serving, reheat, tossing and stirring, then cover pan and let cook several minutes over low heat, until spinach is as tender as you wish it to be. Season carefully to taste. Remove from heat and fold in the butter, a tablespoon at a time. Turn into a hot dish and serve immediately.
Tian de Courgettes au Riz
[Gratin of Zucchini, Rice, and Onions with Cheese]
The tian is, or was in the old days, a shallow, rectangular, earthenware Provençal baking dish. Anything cooked in it becomes a tian, just as something like chicken cooked in a casserole becomes a casserole of chicken. The tian, as a name, has been in vogue lately, but its shape and contents can vary considerably. Zucchini and rice are typical, as are additions of Swiss chard and spinach; thus you could use the preceding combination of zucchini and spinach, if you wish, rather than zucchini alone as suggested here. Serve with roasts, steaks, chops, calf’s liver, broiled fish or chicken, or as a first course.
For 6 people
2 to 2½ lbs. zucchini
½ cup plain, raw, untreated white rice
1 cup minced onions
3 to 4 Tb olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, mashed or finely minced
2 Tb flour
About 2½ cups hot liquid: zucchini juices plus milk, heated in a pan
About ⅔ cup grated Parmesan cheese (save 2 Tb for later)
Salt and pepper
A heavily buttered 6- to 8-cup, flameproof baking and serving dish about 1½ inches deep
2 Tb olive oil
Following the directions, trim, wash, grate, salt, squeeze, and dry the zucchini. While it is draining (reserve the juices,) drop the rice into boiling salted water, bring rapidly back to the boil, and boil exactly 5 minutes; drain and set aside. In a large (11-inch) frying pan, cook the onions slowly in the oil for 8 to 10 minutes until tender and translucent. Raise heat slightly and stir several minutes until very lightly browned. Then stir in the grated and dried zucchini and the garlic. Toss and turn for 5 to 6 minutes until zucchini is almost tender. Sprinkle in the flour, stir over moderate heat for 2 minutes, and remove from heat. Gradually stir in the hot liquid, being sure the flour is well blended and smooth. Return over moderately high heat and bring to the simmer, stirring. Remove from heat again, stir in the blanched rice and all but 2 tablespoons of the cheese. Taste very carefully for seasoning. Turn into buttered baking dish, strew remaining cheese on top, and dribble the olive oil over the cheese. (Preheat oven in time for baking.)
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: May be prepared several hours or a day in advance of final cooking.
About half an hour before serving, bring to simmer on top of stove, then set in upper third of a preheated 425-degree oven until tian is bubbling and top has browned nicely. The rice should absorb all the liquid.
Timbale de Courgettes
[Molded Custard of Zucchini, Onions, and Cheese]
Here is a delightful concoction that is elegant to serve either as a first course, a luncheon dish, or to accompany roast or broiled chicken, a saddle of lamb, or veal or lamb chops. It is a mixture of grated and sautéed zucchini, cooked onions, cheese, cream, and eggs that is unmolded after baking, and then sprinkled with buttered bread crumbs and parsley. One of its most attractive qualities, besides its flavor, is the rather moist texture given it by the cheese, reminiscent of the soft center in a fine soufflé.
EGG PROPORTIONS FOR UNMOLDED CUSTARDS: For a custard of this type, count on 2 “large” eggs for every cup of other ingredients; one quart of ingredients, then, calls for 8 (1½ to 1⅔ cups) “large” eggs and a 6-cup baking dish.
For 6 people
1) The zucchini mixture
About 2 lbs. zucchini
2 cups minced onions
3 Tb butter
1 Tb olive oil or cooking oil
Salt and pepper
A 1-quart measure
A rubber spatula
Following the directions, trim, wash, grate, salt, squeeze, and dry the zucchini; you should have 2 to 2⅓ cups approximately. While zucchini is draining, cook the onions slowly for 12 to 15 minutes or longer, with the butter and oil, in a large (11-inch) frying pan until onions are very tender, translucent, and just beginning to brown. Raise heat, stir in the zucchini; toss and turn for 5 to 6 minutes. Cover pan and cook zucchini several minutes longer over low heat, until tender. Season to taste and scrape into quart measure.
2) The custard mixture—for about 5½ cups
4 ounces (1 cup lightly pressed) mixed grated Parmesan and Swiss cheese
1 cup all-purpose cream, more if needed
A 2½- to 3-quart mixing bowl and a wire whip
8 “large” eggs (1½ to 1⅔ cups)
Salt and pepper to taste
A heavily buttered 6-cup cylindrically shaped baking dish about 3½ inches deep (such as a charlotte), bottom lined with buttered waxed paper
Add the cheese to the vegetables in the quart measure, and pour in enough cream, stirring, to reach the 4-cup mark. Turn the mixture into the bowl, scraping measure clean. Break eggs into measure, being sure you have at least 1½ cups; beat to blend yolks and whites, and fold into the zucchini mixture. Taste carefully for seasoning, and turn into baking dish.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: May be completed in advance to this point; cover and refrigerate. Stir up gently before proceeding. Chilled custard will probably take 10 to 15 minutes longer to bake than unchilled custard.
3) Baking—allow 1 hour; preheat oven to 375 degrees
A pan about 3 inches deep and large enough to hold baking dish easily
Boiling water
When you are ready to bake the custard, set baking dish in pan; pour in enough boiling water to come about ⅔ the way up outside of dish. Place in lower-middle level of preheated oven. To assure yourself of a smooth, bubble-free custard, regulate oven heat so that water in pan never quite simmers throughout the cooking; lower thermostat to 350 degrees in 15 minutes, and you will probably lower it to 325 or 300 degrees near end of baking. Custard should be done in 35 to 40 minutes: the top center will look set rather than loosely liquid when you gently shake the pan. A knife or skewer plunged down through middle of custard will emerge almost clean, looking slightly oily with perhaps a tiny curd of custard clinging here and there. Remove baking dish from pan and let custard settle for 20 minutes before unmolding it.
4) Serving
3 to 4 Tb clarified b
utter (melted butter, skimmed; clear liquid butter spooned off milky residue)
A small (7- to 8-inch) frying pan
½ cup dry, not-too-fine crumbs from non-sweetened homemade-type white bread
3 to 4 Tb minced fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
While custard is baking or cooling, or at any other convenient time, prepare bread-crumb and parsley garnish as follows: Heat clarified butter in pan, and when bubbling stir in bread crumbs. Sauté for several minutes over moderately high heat, stirring continuously until crumbs are lightly browned. Remove from heat, and when cool, stir in the parsley and seasonings.
A hot, lightly buttered serving plate
After custard has settled 20 minutes, run a thin knife around edge of custard. Turn serving plate upside down over baking dish, reverse the two and unmold custard onto plate. Sprinkle with the parsley and crumbs, and serve as soon as possible.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: If you are not ready to serve, do not unmold custard, but leave it in its dish in the pan of hot water and in the turned-off oven. It will stay warm for a good half hour or longer, and may then be unmolded immediately.
Stuffed Zucchini
Courgettes Farcies
Stuffed zucchini can well be a first course, especially when the stuffing is rice or vegetables. The best sizes for stuffing are 6 to 8 inches, and one zucchini half is usually sufficient for a first course or as a vegetable garnish to go with the meat course. Serve 2 or even 3 halves per person when the zucchini is the main course.
COURGETTES FARCIES AUX AMANDES
[Zucchini Stuffed with Almonds and Cheese]
This is a particularly attractive stuffing, not only because almonds are unusual, but also because the flavor of the zucchini survives the stuffing. Serve as a separate course, or with veal chops or scallops, or roast, broiled, or sautéed chicken.
For 6 servings
1) Preparing the zucchini for stuffing
3 zucchini all of a size, about 8 by 2 inches
A large kettle of boiling, salted water
A grapefruit knife
Salt
Paper towels
Trim and scrub the zucchini; blanch about 10 minutes in boiling salted water, just until flesh yields to pressure, as directed. Cut in half lengthwise. Using grapefruit knife, hollow out the cores of each zucchini half, to make boat-shaped cases with the sides and bottom about ⅜ inch thick. Salt lightly and drain hollow side down on towels. Chop the removed zucchini flesh, squeeze out vegetable water in paper towels, and reserve flesh for stuffing.
2) The almond, cheese, and bread-crumb stuffing—for about 2 cups
¼ cup finely minced onions
1½ Tb olive oil or cooking oil
A 6- to 8-inch pan
The chopped zucchini flesh
A 2-quart mixing bowl
2½ ounces (½ cup loosely packed) ground blanched almonds (grind them in an electric blender)
½ cup heavy cream
½ to ⅔ cup dry, fairly fine crumbs from nonsweetened homemade-type white bread
2 ounces (½ cup lightly pressed down) grated Swiss cheese (save 3 Tb for later)
1 “large” egg
Salt and pepper to taste
2 to 3 big pinches powdered clove
Stir the onions into the oil, cover pan, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until onions are tender and translucent. Uncover, raise heat and let them just begin to brown, then stir in the chopped zucchini flesh and sauté for several minutes, until zucchini is tender. Scrape into bowl, and stir in the almonds and cream. Stir in ⅓ cup of the bread crumbs, blending thoroughly, then all but 3 tablespoons of the cheese, and finally the egg. Mixture should hold its shape softly when lifted in a spoon; if too soft, beat in more crumbs by small spoonfuls, mixing thoroughly. Blend in salt and pepper to taste, and the powdered clove.
3) Stuffing and baking the zucchini—25 to 30 minutes at 400 degrees
A heavily buttered rectangular or oval baking and serving dish just large enough to hold the 6 zucchini halves in 1 layer
3 Tb each of the remaining bread crumbs and cheese, mixed in a small bowl
3 Tb melted butter
Arrange the zucchini halves skin side down in the baking dish and fill with the stuffing, heaping it into a dome on each half. Sprinkle each with the cheese and bread crumbs, and dribble on the melted butter.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: May be prepared to this point a day in advance of baking; cover and refrigerate.
Bake in upper third of preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until bubbling hot and browned on top. (Do not overcook, letting zucchini shells become too soft for serving.) Serve from baking dish, or arrange around meat platter.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: May be kept warm, but again, do not let zucchini shells soften.
VARIATIONS
Courgettes Farcies au Riz et aux Poivrons
[Zucchini Stuffed with Rice and Peppers]
Another stuffing for zucchini, this one is equally good cold or hot. Prepare, stuff, and bake the zucchini exactly as described in the preceding recipe, but make the stuffing as follows.
Rice and pepper stuffing with tomato topping—2 cups for six 8- by 2-inch zucchini halves
½ cup diced onions
4 Tb olive oil (save 2 Tb for later)
½ cup diced green peppers
1 large clove mashed garlic
The chopped zucchini cores
⅓ cup plain, raw, white, untreated, long-grain rice
1 egg
⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese (save 3 Tb for later)
3 Tb fresh minced parsley
Salt and pepper
3 medium-sized tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced, and chopped
Stir the onions into the oil in a medium-sized (10-inch) frying pan, cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes until tender. Uncover, raise heat and brown very lightly, stirring, then add the green peppers, garlic, and zucchini cores. Cover and cook slowly for several minutes more until peppers are tender. Turn into mixing bowl. Meanwhile, in a pan of boiling salted water, boil the rice for exactly 10 minutes, drain, and add to mixing bowl. Beat in the egg, then the cheese and parsley. Season carefully with salt and pepper. Mound the stuffing in the blanched and hollowed-out zucchini halves. Season tomato pulp with salt and pepper, spread over the stuffing, cover with the remaining cheese, and sprinkle on the remaining olive oil. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in upper third of preheated 425-degree oven until bubbling hot and cheese topping has browned lightly.
Other stuffings
You may stuff zucchini, following the general method outlined in the Master Recipe, with all kinds of mixtures, including other vegetables, leftover meat combinations, sausage mixtures, and so forth. See the complete list of possibilities.
STUFFED ONIONS—STUFFED CABBAGE
Oignons Farcis—Choux Farcis
OIGNONS FARCIS AU RIZ
[Onions Stuffed with Rice, Cheese, and Herbs]
Onions hollowed out and stuffed with rice and chopped, cooked onion cores need only a little cheese, cream, and a pinch of herbs to point up their flavor. Served hot, they add great distinction to a platter of broiled chicken or fish, and are always attractive with roasts, steaks, and chops. Serve them cold with cold meats or fish, or as part of an hors d’oeuvre display. The following recipe is for giant onions, but smaller ones are done the same way: whatever their size, you hollow them out raw, blanch them until barely tender, then stuff and bake them. If you do not blanch them first, they will take hours to cook and might well burst out of shape in the process. (See the list of other stuffing possibilities.)
For 6 large onions
1) Coring and blanching the onions
6 very large, firm, fresh, perfect onions at least 3½ inches in diameter if possible, yellow or white
A small, sharp knife and a grapefruit knife
A large kettle of boiling salted water
A slotted spoon a
nd a colander
One at a time, shave off pointed end and root end of onions and peel off skin along with one outside layer of flesh. The whole onions are now to be hollowed out to form onion cups.
With sharp knife, cut cone-shaped core out of the top side of the onion. (Reserve all onion flesh for Step 2.)
Being careful not to make sides and bottom too thin (they should be almost ½ inch thick, or about 4 layers for onions this size), use grapefruit knife to dig circular sections out of body of onion to make a cup shape.
Drop the onion cups into the boiling water. When it comes back to the boil, boil slowly, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes until onions are just tender when pierced but still very definitely hold their shape. Remove carefully and drain upside down in a colander. (Reserve boiling water for next step.)
2) The rice, onion, and cheese stuffing
The onion cores
3 to 4 Tb butter
A large frying pan with cover
A 3-quart mixing bowl
While onion cups are blanching, mince all usable onion leftovers. Cook slowly in butter in covered pan 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender and translucent; uncover pan, raise heat, and brown very lightly, stirring. Measure 1 cup into mixing bowl. (Remainder, if any, may be refrigerated or frozen.)