So I was at my friend Domenique’s a couple of weekends ago helping her do some logging on her place. She owns a nice little 20 acres. She has some health issues so she needs help every once in a while to get some of the heavy exertion items done. So it was that me, my wife and a number of her neighbors got together one weekend to help her do some logging so she has a good amount of wood for when winter comes this year and next. It was actually quite fun. I like doing hard work, especially when it’s rewarding. There’s something to be said about using your muscles rather than sitting on your butt all day long every day.
Ok ok, I’m getting side tracked. I am talking about zucchini right? So we were up at Domenique’s place and once we were all done logging we had a little bbq. Domenique had gotten three large slabs of baby back ribs to cook up on the grill and put some yummy seasoning on them. I don’t remember the seasoning, or I’d tell you. I think it came from Costco if I had to guess. Anyway, she didn’t really have anything else to go with them. And that’s when I saw it, the large zucchini sitting on her counter.
I don’t particularly like zucchini, it’s rather tasteless and just a bunch of fiber…maybe with some iron in the skin. So I don’t normally turn to zucchini as a side dish. My wife loves it though and she does a pretty good job cooking it up, but it usually involves butter. Go figure, right? The zucchini Domenique had was big though, not your usual grocery store size. It was probably nearly two feet long and 4-5 inches in diameter at the largest part. I tend to get inventive and I like to solve problems…and this provided a good opportunity to do both. We needed a side dish with the ribs, and there was the problem. There was a zucchini, which solved the problem, but what should I do with it? That was the challenge that required a bit of creativity.
So what do you do with a rather large zucchini? It was kind of spongy in the middle. So not all of it would be great to use, or so my wife and Domenique thought. “Hah!” I said. I already knew what I wanted to do, and I was going to use all of it…not just the outside meat of the zucchini. And a little digging in the herb pantry gave me the rest of what I needed to accomplish the task at hand.
So here we go…isn’t the suspense killing you? I decided to slice the zucchini into medalions, approximately half an inch to three quarters of an inch thick each. I then dipped each side in olive oil and placed them on a prep tray for transport to and from the grill. I whipped out the garlic salt I had pulled from the pantry and put some on BOTH sides, not just one. Once all slices had a thin layer of garlic salt on each side, I put a dash of Herb de Provence on one side of each medallion. I pulled out some Parmesan cheese, grated, from the fridge to use while they were cooking. At that point, they were ready.
I took them out and cooked them on the grill until they were tender. Before I took them off the grill, I put some of the Parmesan cheese on the top of each and let it melt. Then I took each of them off once the cheese was melted and took them back inside until the ribs were done.
That’s it! Not much too it huh? Usually isn’t. Some of the best recipes are the simplest. I will say this, they end up a little salty the way I did them, but they are delicious. I think next time I will do just garlic powder with a pinch of salt and pepper on both sides instead of the garlic salt combo. That way I can cut the salt a little bit. I would also use Mozzarella on the top instead of Parmesan because the Parmesan gets a little crunchy on top once it’s melted and cools down some. It’s the nature of Parmesan though, and if you like that little crunch, go for it. I would prefer a little stringy cheese myself.
I hope you like the recipe. I came up with it on a whim and it turned out pretty darn well. Here’s the recipe if you have a hard time reading through the post. I guessed a little at the amounts.
Grilled Zucchini Medallions
1 large zucchini sliced into 1/2 inch medallions
4 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Pepper
Herb de Provence
1 package shredded Mozzarella (1 lb?)
Prep: Mix garlic powder, salt and pepper together into a sort of rub. Pour olive oil into a deep plate or wide bowl so that you can dip each side of the medallions into it. Dip each side of each medallion into the olive oil and lay on a tray/parchment paper/aluminum foil. Once all medallions have been dipped, sprinkle the garlic/salt/pepper mixture onto the top of each medallion. Flip all the medallions and repeat. Once all medallions have the garlic mixture on each side, sprinkle a small amount of the Herb de Provence on each medallion. Set aside the Mozzarella aside.
Cooking: Grill each medallion on the bbq until each is tender and no longer spongy/hard. They may be slightly blackened but do not char or this will add an undesirable burnt/crunchy taste. Before removing from the grill, place a large pinch of the shredded Mozzarella that was set aside on the top of each medallion and let melt. Once the cheese is melted, remove the medallions from the grill and let cool for a few minutes. Serve with a main dish or as part of a main dish for a vegan plate.
Tags: bar-b-q, barbecue, bbq, cooking zucchini, grill, zucchini
