Zazzy zucchini

This summer squash is the perfect veggie for adding flavour, texture and nutrients

Even if you just planted zucchini in your garden, there’s no reason to go without it until summer. This summer squash is available all year. There are several ways to use it in recipes. It can be grated and baked into bread, sliced crosswise and fried into chips, stuffed, chopped and steamed, cut lengthwise and grilled, or spiralized and used as a substitute for noodles.

Zucchini is rich in several nutrients, including manganese, lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamins A and C. It has 21 calories, 1.5 grams of protein and 1.2 grams of fibre per 250-millilitre (1-cup) serving. It is great for your digestive tract and may help strengthen your heart and vision.

Zucchini is one of my favourite vegetables because it’s difficult to detect if you sneak it into baked goodies. The skin is soft and thin and stores many of the nutrients and vitamins, so include it in your recipes.

Moist Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes (at right) are a good example, with the perfect touch of sweetness and rich chocolate frosting. They are quick and easy to make with pantry staple ingredients.

Crispy Parmesan Fried Zucchini Chips (at right), coated with savoury Parmesan and panko, make a great appetizer, snack or side dish. Just because something is fried does not mean it has to taste heavy and oily. The panko bread crumbs provide a light, airy crunch, the Italian seasonings keep the flavour fresh and the tender zucchini tastes so good.

Serve zucchini as an appetizer, snack, side dish or dessert and it will become a family favourite in no time.

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