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Flexible side dish stars zucchini and corn

Recipe: Stir fry is a variation on succotash

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED JUL 26, 2020

Fresh zucchini and corn get some pop from red onion, garlic and basil. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

Into every vegetable gardener's life a little zucchini will appear. Or a lot. Even if you don't grow it, you wind up with it anyway -- hey, did someone leave that on the porch?

Zucchini bread, sure, is a great way to use it. (Have you tried making the blog's famous chocolate zucchini bread ?) And grilled, stuffed, etc., all have their place. But the search for more ways to use summer squash is a ubiquitous summer pursuit, so the side dish here is really handy. It also makes great use of fresh corn. Think of it as a modern take on succotash.

I came up with this a few years ago. It's a no-recipe recipe, in that the list of ingredients is just a suggestion. Vary it any way you like, with whatever you grow or find at the farmers market. But this particular version is really, really good.

Note: I included the green beans because I had them. Diced bell or hot pepper is another option. Lima beans aren't on my list of likes, but if fresh ones are available, try those, too.

Onion slice, zucchini, basil and ear of corn

Simple, fresh ingredients make this side dish a winner.

Zucchini-corn side dish

Serves 4 (easily doubled, or more)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 to 1/2 cup diced red onion (from one large slice of of a large onion)

1 8-inch zucchini, trimmed, cut lengthwise into quarters and then sliced thin.

1 clove garlic, minced

1 ear fresh corn, kernels stripped off the cob

1/2 cup green beans, lightly steamed or blanched, optional

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Handful of fresh basil leaves, cut chiffonade or torn

Instructions :

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Cook the red onion for a minute or 2, stirring. Add the zucchini, continuing to stir for a minute or so, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Just a few minutes of stirring are needed.

Reduce heat to medium and add the garlic. After another minute, add the corn kernels, and the green beans, if using. The goal is texture like stir-fry, crisp-cooked without getting too brown.

Taste and adjust seasoning. Just before removing from heat, stir in the basil, saving a leaf or two for garnish. Serve alongside grilled meat and caprese salad.

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipes summer cooking gardening Sacramento summer vegetables backyard produce produce management zucchini summer squash summer

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

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