About a year ago we found ourselves in the kitchen of caterer Jennie Cook, grating small mountains of zucchini for an intriguing dish she called zucchini marmalade, or butter. When we finally tasted the fruits of our labor (at a community eat-in for good food in schools), we were delighted by the spread's buttery, subtly sweet flavor. In fact, it was so memorable that we've been craving it ever since and finally asked Jennie for the recipe.
Having missed the actual cooking of the zucchini marmalade/butter in Jennie's kitchen last year, we were surprised to discover how easy it is to make. Although it takes some time on the stove top (and you can even cook it down further than the batch in the photo above), it's otherwise quite simple, requiring just a couple of ingredients slowly cooked in olive oil until jammy and buttery. Delicious on toast or sandwiches, it's a great little staple to have in your summer cooking repertoire.
Super Easy and Delicious Zucchini Butter (or Marmalade)
Makes about 2 cups. Recipe from Jennie Cook.2 pounds zucchini, more or less*
1/4 cup olive oil or butter, if you prefer
2 minced shallots, garlic, or combination of both
Salt and pepper
Coarsely grate the zucchini. Let it drain in a colander for 3 to 4 minutes or until you are ready to begin cooking. To hasten cooking time, squeeze the water out of the zucchini by wringing it in a clean cloth towel.
In a deep skillet, heat the olive oil/butter. Sauté the shallots briefly. Add the zucchini and toss. Cook and stir over medium to medium-high heat until the zucchini reaches a spreadable consistency. If you scorch the bottom, turn the flame down! (And scrape those delicious bits into the marmalade for added flavor.) The zucchini will hold its bright green color and slowly caramelize into a nice vegetable jam.
Enjoy on toast, or as a side dish all summer long!
*Feel free to add extra zucchini. It may take a little longer to cook, but this recipe keeps well and can be stored in the refrigerator for about a month.
• For information on Jennie's catering company, and for more recipes at her blog, visit Jennie Cooks Catering.
Related: Summer Salad Recipe: Squash Ribbons
(Images: Emily Ho)
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Comments (18)
Huh! Never heard of anything like this. Sounds simple and tasty. I'll bet it would be great on a hamburger, with some crumbled feta on top.
http://operagirlcooks.com
Brilliant idea. Recently I've found that a great way to eat more vegetables is to make a veggie spread like this one and eat it on bread, or even (shockingly!) as a dip for vegetable sticks. What a plan. :) You can use any vegetable like this: just cook, by any method, until soft. I got the idea from Mark Bittman's book Food Matters and I love eating sweet potato spread.
I've never heard of something like this, what a unique way to use up zucchini. Looks absolutely delicious! http://www.twohealthyplates.com
Looks delicious! Any ballpark on the amount of time it takes to caramelize and be delicious?
This looks very tasty; I'll have to try this.
I think you have finally solved the zucchini problem. There should be a prestigious prize for that!
I just made this and it's delicious. I will say, though, that even after draining the grated zucchini, there was still a lot of liquid that had to cook out. It took about 20 minutes on a medium-hot stove...but so worth it!
Holy poo this is delicious! And it's such a great option for someone like me who finds zucchini very uninspiring--bland in flavor and consistency. The caramelized shallots add such a pleasing note, and the grating makes for great texture.
Yum! I can't wait to try this!
This tastes great! Although I only made one zucchini for the trial run, which did not produce very much once it cooked down, I will definitely be repeating this soon, with a lot more zucchini! Zucchini is not something I normally eat- I too find it uninspiring; this recipe is a great way for anyone to sneak a little more 'green' into their life.
I'm fairly inept in the kitchen and this was ridiculously quick, easy and fantastic. Only had 3 small/med sized zucchini, so only produced half or so of the recipe (although I may have used almost as much butter!). We spread it on warm whole wheat farm bread and topped it with red pepper and apple shavings. Even my food texture-phobic husband liked the spread. Will definitely make larger batches of this in the future to keep on hand.
This was delicious. I used 8 small zucchinis and cooked everything for almost an hour. It cooked down to less than a cup of spread.
Has anyone tried this in a crock pot?
Any ideas on what affect canning would have on the texture/taste/color of this? I would love to preserve some for future hostess gifts.
I am also wondering about canning this as gifts. I hope someone knows if it would work.
hey, lovely it looks, Have never ever tried anything major in Zucchini, should try this out!
Delicious. Still watching & waiting for a response to the canning question. Anyone?
Do you think this would freeze well?