Those green things

So called because my other half had a temporary mental block one day when trying to remember what zucchini were called.

“You know – those green things”, he said, and “green things” they have been ever since! I only call themzucchini because I can spell that, but always have difficulty with qarabagħli. So, Italian/American zucchini they will remain, although, just to be awkward, they can also be English/French courgettes – not to mention Maltese marrows!

After a surfeit of winter broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and carrots, it’s nice to turn to what I call atrinity of summer vegetables, namely aubergines, tomatoes and zucchini. Over the past few months, I’ve offered recipes for the first two and now it’s the turn of the third.

Although zucchini are now an all-year-round vegetable and not just confined to the summer months, it’s during the summer that they really come into their own.

Quickly boiled or steamed, or sautéed in butter, they are delicious on their own, and served with Anne and Helen Caruana Galizia’s zalza pikkanti they are truly ambrosial, but I try to find other ways to serve them. So let’s start with some starters.

Apart from gazpacho and vichyssoise, soups don’t immediately spring to mind when thinking of summer starters, but iced pea and zucchini soup is minty and refreshing and, of course, convenient, in that it has to be made in advance. Serve it with grissini or crackers for dunking.

Zucchini, rice and ricotta bake can be all things to all men – a starter, a side dish or a vegetarian meal. It can be made in one bigdish and cut into wedges, or inindividual ramekins to turn out. I like to serve it with a spoonful of chunky home-made tomato sauce or some lemony mayonnaise.

I’m a big fan of traditional moussaka made with lamb and aubergines, but I also make it with beef, and sometimes substitute potatoes or zucchini for the aubergines. The zucchini version is lighter and goes well with some small new potatoes or plain rice.

Torta de calabacitas is similar to quesadillas, the thin Mexican ‘sandwiches’ made from tortillas filled with cheese and chillies, but this is much more substantial.

Grated zucchini are mixed with chopped spicy chorizo, onion and tomatoes, flavoured with garlic, jalapeño chillies and cumin, then layered with cheese in a triple-decker tortilla sandwich. It’s nice cut into big wedges and served with a green salad, some sour cream and ice-cold ‘Corona’ Mexican beer.

Jars of either sliced green or red jalapeños can be found in the Mexican section of most supermarkets, but be warned, although they say the red ones are ‘sweeter’, they are as seriously hot as the green ones!