Giada De Laurentiis’ Zucchini Spiedini Was Made with This Summer’s Grilling Season in Mind

With temperatures rising and our desire to be in a hot kitchen dropping, it’s time to get outside and fire up that grill. And Giada De Laurentiis — Italian-American chef, author, and former Food Network host — is right there with us.

To celebrate the beginning of outdoor grilling season, she started us off with a simple two-ingredient recipe on @thegiadzy — the Instagram “destination for La Dolce Vita” for 510,000 followers (a more “intimate” setting than the 1.9 million of De Laurentiis’ main account). 

A direct translation to “skewers” or Italian kebabs, her zucchini spiedini are touted as a great side dish for spring and summer, made extra delicious with two things: prosciutto and lemony pesto. 

A one-two punch of alternating zucchini rounds and slices of prosciutto, they’re the perfect flavor combo on their own. Her pro tip: Use bamboo skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes to prevent scorching (if you don’t have the time, metal skewers work just as well).

The only thing that can up the ante on this grilled masterpiece is the dressing — and with an easy whirl in a food processor of fresh basil leaves, toasted pine nuts (baked in the oven prior), fresh lemon juice, and garlic, you’ve got a good base to start with. Olive oil and grated Parmesan are then added to thicken the tasty concoction to perfection. And while Giada bastes the skewers with olive oil occasionally during grilling, she saves the best (the pesto sauce) for last, brushing it on right before serving.

This isn’t the first time she has given us a quick way to enjoy fresh flavors with simple ingredients: The chef’s lemon spaghetti has been on repeat for us since earlier this year.

You can find the entire recipe for zucchini spiedini here — and if you’ve decided skewers are your new summer go-to cooking move, try these chili-lime chicken skewers.