captain caveman zucchini, day 2

where the day before had revolved around cilantro, day 2 of getting through the monster zucchini was driven by basil. i had a bit of goat cheese in the fridge from the farmers market, and decided to roll it up in slices of grilled zucchini with a leaf of basil and a sliver of squash blossom for color. i had overseasoned the squash slightly, but this was still a delicious dish! it would be great to serve at a party, and has the advantage of being something that can be prepared ahead and broiled at the last minute.

zucchini and goat cheese rolls

zucchini, sliced longways about 1/4" thick

goat cheese

basil leaves

squash blossoms, sliced (optional)

olive oil

salt and pepper

rub zucchini slices with olive oil and lightly season both sides with salt and pepper. grill a couple of minutes on each side until softened and grill marked.

add about a teaspoon or two of goat cheese, a basil leaf, and a piece of squash blossom to the middle of each slice. roll squash slices around filling and broil just a few minutes, until heated through and the cheese is melted.

to accompany our rolls, i revisited the zucchini parmesan idea from earlier in the summer. however, this zucchini is so freaking big around that i couldn't find a pan that would accommodate the slices gracefully. so i built two zucchini parmesan towers.

they look like giant burgers, don't they? but they are just breaded and pan fried zucchini slices, layered with parmesan, mozzarella, and tomato sauce, topped with some silly flair. i mean, food is lots of things and FUN is certainly one.

naturally, the towers slumped in the oven and looked like they'd met a wrecking ball when they came out. no worries. we just laughed at it and scooped the top two stories on a plate, saving the bottom floors for seconds. as before, it tasted great!

about a third of the zucchini remains. fritters? risotto? shredded as a salad? this is gonna take some creativity. and, yikes, full confession-- i actually brought home 2 mondo zucchinis from the garden... at the end of this, i do believe i will have had my fill.