Recipe: 'Zucchini butter' holds together this baked macaroni
![]() Zucchini mac, fresh from the oven.
(Photos: Debbie Arrington) |
It’s that time of year when my zucchini keeps growing faster than I can pick it. Little baby squash seem to turn into 2- or 3-pound specimens in less than a week.
When I measure a zucchini by the pound, that squash is best used grated, making the most of its moisture and fiber.
Grated zucchini is the basic ingredient in a wonderful summer pasta sauce. It’s rich, creamy and (I insist) good for you. (It’s green! It has to be!)
This sauce is a variation of Julia Child’s recipe for grated zucchini sautéed with shallots, also known as zucchini butter. It’s wonderful with all sorts of pasta – long, short or twisty.
Child nicknamed it “zucchini butter,” which is how it tastes. It also can be made with olive oil instead of butter; leave out the cream for a lighter version.
Since I have a lot of zucchini this summer, I started experimenting with zucchini butter. This combination was the best yet, using zucchini butter instead of heavy cheese sauce in a variation of mac and cheese.
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This chunk of zucchini weighed exactly 1 pound. |
Zucchini mac
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
For sauce:
1 pound zucchini, grated (about 3 cups)
1 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
½ cup cream
1 cup elbow macaroni (uncooked)
Water
Salt
Butter to grease baking dish
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare zucchini. Grate squash with skin on. Remove any large hard seeds. Salt grated zucchini and place in a colander. Let drain at least 5 minutes, pressing down gently to remove excess moisture.
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Sauté onion in melted butter until soft. Add zucchini and sauté, stirring often, until most of the moisture is evaporated and the squash is very soft, about 5 minutes. Add cream and stir until blended. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Stir until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, prepare elbow macaroni according to package directions. Drain.
Add cooked macaroni to zucchini sauce in pan. Stir to combine.
Butter an 8-inch baking dish. Put zucchini-macaroni mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until cheese turns golden. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.
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Garden Checklist for week of Feb. 9
Be careful walking or working in wet soil; it compacts easily.
* Keep the irrigation turned off; the ground is plenty wet with more rain on the way.
* February serves as a wake-up call to gardeners. This month, you can transplant or direct-seed several flowers, including snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.
* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots.
* Transplant cabbage and its close cousins – broccoli, kale and cauliflower – as well as lettuce (both loose leaf and head).
* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.
* Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions.
* Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.
* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.
* Annuals are showing up in nurseries, but wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting. Instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.
* Plant summer-flowering bulbs including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.