Italian-Inspired Vegetable Recipes for Every Season

From the Publisher: Smashed Baby Zucchini Bruschetta

Makes 8 bruschetta

The key to this dish is ensuring the zucchini is cooked enough, as al dente zucchini won't smash well. The goal is to have it soft and tender, allowing the delicious zucchini juices to meld with the pecorino cheese. This dish can be served for brunch with scrambled eggs or a frittata, but it's also delicious spooned over toasted bread on its own.

Directions:

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat and season generously with kosher salt, about 1 tablespoon of salt per quart of water. This is the blanching water (see page 10), and it should be salty like the ocean.

Prepare a medium bowl with ice water for shocking. Blanch the zucchini coins for 4 minutes, until they are soft and tender but still retain their shape. Drain the zucchini and plunge it into the ice water. Use your hands to agitate the coins in the ice water to chill the zucchini quickly. Drain the zucchini in a colander for 10 minutes.

1. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini coins with the olive oil, mint, and a few pinches of coarse sea salt. Use an old-school potato masher to smash them until the zucchini is a spoonable consistency, yet there are still visible chunks. Stir in the pecorino.

Spoon the smashed zucchini over grilled or toasted bread and garnish with a few leaves of mint and more grated pecorino.

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt
• 1 pound baby zucchini, cut into ¼-inch-thick coins
• 2 tablespoons super-special extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh mint, plus more leaves for garnish
• Coarse sea salt (like Maldon)
• ¼ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano, plus a little more for garnish
• 8 slices of ciabatta or rustic bread, grilled or toasted

product information: