Zuni Cafe Zucchini Pickles

Put that cucumber down. Here's the vegetable you should be pickling, plus ideas for using up the rest of your market haul. 


  

Frombutter to quickbreads, pancakes to gratins, we know how to quickly pare down our haul. 

  

Soak slices of squash in a salt-water brine to draw out its water and cause it to soften. After one hour of this "purging," the squash is primed to better soak up the brine. Remove the squash from the salt bath and then submerge it in a mixture of vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, mustard seeds, and turmeric. Leave them like this for a day in the fridge, and they're ready. 

The next time you find yourself with a glut of zucchini, think about preserving them—they’ll never disappear so quickly. 

Choosing, storing, and prepping your zucchini:Look for zucchini with smooth, unblemished skin that feel heavy for their size. Small- to medium-sized zucchini are ideal—large ones tend to be seedy, watery, starchy, and less flavorful. Store them in an open bag in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator and use within a week if possible. Zucchini can be dirty, so before using, wash to remove any grit clinging to their skins. Trim off each end; no need to peel.  

After you've put up your pickles, here are a few more ways to use your zucchini:

• Zucchini can be eaten raw, thinly sliced into delicate carpaccio, julienned into a salad, or finely minced into a couscous salad with shallots, basil, lemon, and ricotta salata.
• When cut into rounds, sautéed in olive oil, and dressed with a garlic-basil-caper knife pesto, zucchini makes an elegant side dish.
• For a make-ahead side dish, halve zucchini lengthwise, then roast with a spicy and minty vinaigrette. Finish under the broiler.
• Shred, salt, and drain zucchini then slowly cook it down till it spreads like butter or toss into pasta.
• Slice thinly, layer with salsa verde, and bake with breadcrumbs overtop—or bake into a tian with a light béchamel.
• And, of course, bread! Made with rosemary, orange, olive oil, and yogurt, this one is at once light and comforting. 

Zuni Cafe Zucchini Pickles

Makes 1 1/2 to 2 pints 

1 pound zucchini1 small yellow onion2 tablespoons salt, a little more if using kosher2 cups cider vinegar1 cup sugar1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard1 1/2  teaspoons crushed yellow and/or brown mustard seeds1 teaspoon ground turmeric

http://food52.com/blog/13420-the-vegetable-you-should-start-pickling-asap