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When the zucchini in your garden is still slender and about 7-inches long—before they get big as baseball bats—the seeds will be small and the flesh will be sweet.
Zucchini at this stage hardly needs any adornment. I like to cut my zucchini into thin coins and toss them in a hot skillet with some oil until they start to turn golden-brown. That's it!
With only six ingredients and about 15 minutes of your time, you have a beautiful vegetable dish for your summer table.
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How to Slice the Zucchini
I like to use a mandoline to slice the zucchini into thin, uniform circles, but you can also use a food processor with a slicing blade or your chef's knife. If the opening of your food processor is too small for whole zucchini, halve them lengthwise first to make half-coins.
I like to add fresh dill and lemon zest to my sauté. They add just the right aromatics to the zucchini.
Tips for the Best Zucchini
- Use a large skillet: Not only does this let you fit more zucchini in the pan, but it means more pieces get contact time with the hot skillet. Contact time means browned, golden bits!
- Cook in batches: This way you don't crowd the pan and your zucchini sears instead of steams.
- Don't stir for the first few minutes: This lets the zucchini on the bottom become nicely browned.
- Cook until crisp-tender: Try a round or two of zucchini as it cooks. It's ready when tender all the way through and no longer crunchy, but still with a bit of bite.
More Simple Zucchini Recipes!
- Roasted Zucchini with Garlic
- Spicy Zucchini Soup
- Cheesy Zucchini Bites
- Zucchini with Thyme
- Sautéed Zucchini with Gruyere
Easy Sautéed Zucchini
You can halve this recipe if cooking for four or fewer people.
Ingredients
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6 medium zucchini (7-inches long, 2 1/2 pounds or 1.10 kg total)
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4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
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1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
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1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
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2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
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Zest from one lemon
Method
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Prepare the zucchini:
Cut away the stem from the zucchini and trim the bottom end. Slice the zucchini into 1/8-inch rounds using a mandoline, food processor, or your very best knife skills.
Sheryl Julian -
Cook the zucchini in two batches:
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add half the zucchini. Cook without stirring for 4 minutes, or until some of the rounds are golden when you lift them with a spatula.
Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper. Turn and cook 2 minutes more without disturbing or until more rounds are brown. Do this two more times. Not all the rounds will be browned but a lot of them will be. Transfer to a bowl.
Cook the second batch of zucchini with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon of pepper in the same way. Return all the zucchini to the pan.
Sheryl Julian -
Season the zucchini:
Sprinkle the hot zucchini with the dill and lemon zest, and toss well. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if you like.
Sheryl Julian -
Serve:
This dish can be served hot or warm.
Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
---|---|
119 | Calories |
8g | Fat |
15g | Carbs |
3g | Protein |
Nutrition Facts | |
---|---|
Servings: 6 to 8 | |
Amount per serving | |
Calories | 119 |
% Daily Value* | |
Total Fat 8g | 10% |
Saturated Fat 1g | 5% |
Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
Sodium 139mg | 6% |
Total Carbohydrate 15g | 5% |
Dietary Fiber 4g | 15% |
Total Sugars 7g | |
Protein 3g | |
Vitamin C 73mg | 365% |
Calcium 53mg | 4% |
Iron 1mg | 7% |
Potassium 559mg | 12% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |