Summer’s officially here. Aside from seasonal fruit, summer means it’s zucchini season. And if you live in a community where people grow their own gardens, you’re probably up to your eyeballs in homegrown zucchini. Or perhaps you keep seeing it for ridiculously low prices at the supermarket. Either way, what do you do with this cylindrical green vegetable?

Zucchini bread is always an option. I, however, and a very firm believer that vegetables don’t belong anywhere near my baked goods. This goes for pumpkins in pie, zucchinis in bread, and it most definitely applies to rhubarb. Yuck! But I’m an open minded person. And I understand a person’s need to get their bake on. So here’s a recipe from the Food Network that I think you’ll enjoy. It’s got chocolate chips, which may actually outweigh the impacts of putting vegetables in baked goods.

Another possibility is zucchini au gratin. It’s got less carbs that potatoes au gratin, but it’s definitely high in fat. That means it’s delicious! I modified a recipe from the Food Network. I hope you love it as much as I do. It would pair well with pork chops and peach cobbler. I mean heck – if you’re gonna heat up the kitchen anyway, may as well get a two-fer out of the deal.

Zucchini Au Gratin
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
dash of nutmeg
1/2 cup milk or half-and-half
1/3 cup goat cheese (or 1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese)
1 pound zucchini, sliced into 1/8-inch thick rounds
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch casserole dish.

2. In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt butter. Saute onion until translucent. Add the flour and make a roux. Cook until the flour just begins to smell nutty. Add a little bit of the milk and stir with a whisk to get rid of any lumps. Continue adding the milk, a little bit at a time, and whisking so that there are no lumps in the sauce.

3. Start to add the goat (or cheddar) cheese. Whisk it in until its all completely melted. Season with the salt, pepper, and just a hint of nutmeg. (My chef at school told us it’s just a whisper of nutmeg.)

4. Layer the zucchini rounds on the bottom of your baking dish. Ladle some sauce over the layer. Then stack another layer of zucchini on top and pour the sauce over. Keep repeating until you have used up all of the zucchini rounds. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese on top.

5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20-30 minutes. The sauce should be bubbly, and the top layer should be golden brown and just a little bit crispy.

The Food Network has a wealth of other zucchini recipes at their site. Be sure to check out the fried zucchini and zucchini salad recipes.

If you’ve got tips for using up zucchini, or you have favorite zucchini stories you’d like to share, please leave a comment. Happy eating, ya’ll!

Photo credit: stock.xchng