Vegetables
1337 recipes found
Shrimp Linguine With Herbs, Corn and Arugula
The beauty of this pasta lies in its ease: Combine fresh, seasonal ingredients and let them shine. Here, shrimp is sautéed in butter until just cooked through, then set aside while the rest of the dish comes together. Peppery arugula, sweet corn and an abundance of fresh herbs round out this easy-to-assemble dinner, which is perfect after a long day at the beach or even just the office. Seared scallops would work well in place of shrimp, or you could try a combination of the two. Herbs, too, are up to you: Basil screams summer, but tarragon and Italian parsley would also be nice. White wine is used to make a light sauce for the pasta; you know what to do with any extra.
Hobak Jeon (Pan-Fried Zucchini)
The chef Peter Serpico learned how to make hobak jeon, battered and fried slices of zucchini, by watching his mother-in-law cook. After her granddaughter was born, she would often trek from Queens, N.Y., armed with groceries and Korean recipes, to Mr. Serpico’s Philadelphia apartment. This recipe is inspired by her simple yet satisfying jeon and appears in “Learning Korean,” a cookbook chronicling Mr. Serpico’s journey with Korean food as an adoptee. There is one twist in his recipe: He adds a fish sauce to the batter, which gives the zucchini a salty depth.
Zucchini Carpaccio
Raw zucchini has a fresh, green flavor that is lost when the vegetable is cooked. Excellent olive oil and fresh lemon juice make the perfect dressing to bathe the slices in; the acid softens and flavors the zucchini. After the nuts and/or herbs, the garnishes are all optional. Try them in any combination, or play around with others: cracked black pepper, crushed pink peppercorns or crumbled dried chiles.
Pistachio Green Mole (Mole Verde de Pistache)
Many Mexican moles require hours of cooking and a laundry list of ingredients, but this green mole does not. This vibrant vegan version is made with herbs, baby spinach and pistachios, and the sauce comes together in about 30 minutes. This recipe calls for zucchini or summer squash, but feel free to swap in another roasted vegetable, depending on the season. The chef Enrique Olvera included it in his “Tu Casa Mi Casa” cookbook to show how fresh and seasonal a mole can be.
Zucchini Salad
This exquisitely simple recipe from Jacques Pépin first appeared in The Times in 1991, and couldn't be easier. The zucchini is gently roasted until tender, then tossed with salt, pepper, white wine vinegar and oil. It's the perfect treatment for almost any summer squash.
Marinated Zucchini Salad
Raw zucchini can be a dull ingredient, but when it’s very thinly sliced it marinates beautifully, especially in lemon juice. I like to use a mixture of green and yellow squash here. Assemble this dish at least four hours before you wish to serve it, so that the squash has time to soften and soak up the lemony marinade.
Lemony Zucchini Slaw
This salad of julienned zucchini is dressed in yogurt and tossed with a generous amount of lemon juice and zest. Use as many bright herbs as possible, or a single herb if you prefer, and chop them at the last minute.
Marinated Zucchini With Farro, Chickpeas and Parmesan
Zucchini’s a tricky vegetable, prone to mushiness. Here, we avoid those pitfalls: By pan-frying planks, you’ll get tender, rich insides with golden-brown exteriors. And when you pair these cooked pieces with delicate raw zucchini ribbons (don’t call them zoodles!) you’ll get just a glimpse of this vegetable’s full potential. A generous handful of arugula, and a bed of farro and chickpeas, fill out the rest of the meal. Cooking the chickpeas along with the farro may seem strange, but it will make the canned beans softer, creamier, and more flavorful than simply dumping them into the salad. For added crunch and flavor in every bite, roughly chop the zucchini noodles and the planks before tossing.
Seared Zucchini With Crispy Parmesan and Black Pepper
This summery side dish is inspired by the flavors of cacio e pepe, Rome’s beloved pasta dish. Zucchini or summer squash is seared in a very hot pan until golden, and while it cooks, coarsely ground black pepper is separately toasted and butter is added to brown. (Be sure to salt your zucchini just before you add it to the hot pan — not sooner — as they can release water and become mushy if salted and left to sit.) If you can, take the time to grate your own Parmesan for a lighter, almost pillowy-like consistency that melts into the butter and forms chewy-like nuggets of cheese. (This will not be a smooth, emulsified sauce.) Like many good summer dishes, this one is finished with torn basil. Serve with a side of grilled sausages or pearled couscous tossed with pesto. A tumbler of rosé would make this dinner worthy of eating outside on the back porch, dish in lap.
Coconut-Stewed Bamboo Shoots With Shrimp (Ginataang Tambo)
Dressing seafood in coconut milk is a classic way of cooking it, writes Nicole Ponseca in her book, “I Am a Filipino.” Here, shrimp are quickly sautéed in a heady coconut milk sauce laced with onion, ginger and slivers of red chile. Slippery pieces of bamboo shoot (canned, or fresh if you can find it) add texture and a gentle earthiness.
Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes With Red Pepper Dressing
Zucchini’s inherent versatility is well known. It shows up in pastas, vegetable stews and can even be pickled. In this salad, thinly sliced zucchini is very briefly blanched, then paired with other summery ingredients and served at room temperature. Roast the red pepper yourself or use a quality brand from a jar.
Grilled Zucchini With Miso Glaze
This dish plays on the sweetness and fruitiness of plump zucchini. Scoring the flesh in a crisscross pattern creates crevices for the miso glaze to seep into while also allowing the heat to penetrate the zucchini. Cooked quickly on high heat, the squash maintains its shape and heft, with flesh that is just tender enough. Covering the zucchini with a lid during cooking locks in all the moisture, ensuring that it becomes juicy. A grill pan is ideal for achieving smoky char marks, but you could also use a regular skillet or cook it on an outdoor grill (see Tip). If you are cooking for a group, count on one zucchini per person. Serve this as a side dish or with rice for a simple, quick and flavorful meal.
Smashed Zucchini With Chickpeas and Peanuts
The contrasting flavors and textures in this dish might make you wonder — in a good way — “What is going on here?” First, raw zucchini is treated like cucumber, smashed and left to intensify with salt and lime juice. Next, it’s showered with toasted chickpeas and peanuts, which are zingy from lime zest and citrusy spices like sumac or coriander. Offsetting the sweet crunch of zucchini and the fatty, crispy topping are thick rounds of jalapeño. Eat this quick mix with whole grains, tortillas or pita, yogurt, Cotija or another crumbly cheese, salad greens or soft-boiled eggs.
Zucchini “Pasta”
If you don’t eat wheat, or you’re on a low-carbohydrate diet and miss pasta, this can stand in for fettucine. Be very careful not to overcook it; it will be al dente after just a few minutes of cooking, after which it will quickly fall apart. When cooked just right, it’s silky and wonderful. You can eat it as is, or toss it with a fresh tomato sauce. Use a vegetable peeler or a mandolin to make the thin zucchini strips. It’s easy to do with the peeler, which is what I use.
Maple-Glazed Butternut Squash and Sweet Potatoes
You can dress up this side as a whole meal by piling these sweet, warmly spiced vegetables into a grain bowl, putting them over quinoa, couscous or white rice, and adding a lean protein — or even another wintry vegetable like brussels sprouts. You could also throw an egg on top, finishing it with cracked black pepper. Just don’t be tempted to put everything on one sheet pan. Using two allows for more air flow, which creates those crispy edges, a contrast to the soft middles.
Zucchini Agrodolce
Wherever the sun is powerful, it has been used to dry local produce. Sundried zucchini are commonly found in the markets in southern Italy, and this sweet-sour marinade, agrodolce, comes from even farther south, in Sicily. The flesh of the zucchini becomes dense and meaty when dried and, after frying, the slices perfectly soak up the aromatic, piquant, lively marinade. Served with slices of sopressata and a fresh orb of burrata, this dish is a delicious addition to an antipasto course. If you can use the sun to dry the zucchini where you live, do so; for the rest of us, the oven in your kitchen will do the trick.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Smoked Paprika
This is a simple way to put an enormous amount of flavor on a plate, and it is particularly delicious with roast chicken — or as a side dish for slab-bacon tacos with burned scallion crema. (Drizzle a little of the crema onto the potatoes just before serving, as if to recall the aioli served with patatas bravas in Spain.) As always when using paprika, smoked or plain, if you can’t recall the last time you did so, it is time for a new jar. All spices go stale. Paprika does so quickly.
Spicy Sweet Potato and Cheddar Croquettes
Sweet potatoes and cheese are flavored with cumin, smoked paprika, black pepper and cayenne for warmth, smokiness and a little bit of a kick. Once these croquettes are breaded and deep fried, a crisp crust delicately encapsulates the soft and gooey mixture within. They are very straightforward to prepare, but the process makes them a labor of love, perfect for entertaining or simply showing off your kitchen prowess.
Zucchini Panzanella
Zucchini shines in this take on panzanella, a Tuscan bread salad commonly featuring tomatoes. (Panzanella didn’t include tomatoes until the 16th century, and earlier versions featured onions as the main vegetable.) Here, scallions crisp up alongside the pan-fried croutons, which get a last-minute candying with maple syrup to provide extra crunch and insurance against sogginess. While the croutons are magnificent and dangerously snackable, the star of this salad is the zucchini. Cooked zucchini tastes wonderful, but the crunch of the raw vegetable in this recipe is stimulating and sweet, especially when doused with the punchy, garlicky dressing. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter .
Candied Sweet Potatoes
When Fred Harvey opened his first Harvey House restaurant in 1876 on the railway line in Topeka, Kan., his idea was radical for the time: Railroad passengers would be fed good food in a pleasant environment. His concept was so successful that it spawned 84 restaurants, a Hollywood movie and an official cookbook. And it was in “The Harvey House Cookbook” that we found this excellent recipe for sweet potatoes candied with confectioners’ sugar and butter. It is best served warm rather than piping hot, which makes it convenient for big meals like Thanksgiving. Bake it before you roast your turkey, then reheat it briefly just before serving.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Horseradish Butter
This recipe plays velvety, honeyed roasted sweet potatoes against the sharp bite of a fresh horseradish and herb compound butter. It’s a great dish for feeding a crowd at Thanksgiving or another gathering. You can roast the potatoes and make the horseradish butter ahead, then pop them into the oven just 15 minutes before serving, while the turkey rests. If you can’t find fresh horseradish, substitute another aromatic ingredient like garlic, fresh ginger or scallions, adjusting the quantities to taste. You'll need less ginger and garlic than you would horseradish, and probably the same amount of scallions. Taste as you go.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Believe it or not, not everyone wants their sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows or brown sugar. For them, here is a straightforward dish that lets the natural, earthy sweetness of sweet potatoes shine.
Garlicky Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
Tender in the middle, with charred ruffles on top, hasselback potatoes — sliced thinly all the way through so that they fan open like an accordion — are the ultimate treat for people who can’t choose between creamy and crisp. In this recipe, the sweet potatoes are halved first, so they cook faster and so their flat sides sear in the hot pan, leaving a caramelized edge. If your spice cabinet is fully stocked, try adding red-pepper flakes, smoked paprika or dried oregano to your garlic-butter mixture. A sprinkling of chopped parsley, right before you’re ready to eat, would also be welcome. Serve these as you would roasted potatoes, like alongside roast chicken.
Greg Collier’s Sweet Potato Pikliz
Haitian pikliz traditionally uses cabbage, but this version from Greg Collier, chef and co-owner of Leah & Louise in Charlotte, N.C., calls for grated sweet potato. It’s victory garden larder meets Caribbean flavor. If you have a well-stocked pantry, you are halfway to this relish, but note: Not every sweet potato is the same; look for the jewel variety for its vibrant orange flesh. This pikliz is mild in spice level compared to traditional versions. Serve it with Memphis Dry-Rub Ribs or Memphis Dry-Rub Mushrooms.