Ukraine’s summer cuisine: what to cook when you have tons of zucchinis

What is the problem?

In Ukraine, zucchini is an essential part of summer. People grow it in their gardens, share it with family and friends, and often give it away for free on the streets. If you're a zucchini enthusiast looking to add variety to your meals with this popular Ukrainian vegetable, Rubryka has some great ideas for you.

What is the problem?

Zucchini is called a super vegetable for a reason—it is inexpensive, hypoallergenic, edible in any form, and can be combined with any other product.

These are very low-calorie vegetables: 100 grams of zucchini is about 17 calories. They are also rich in vitamins A, C, and B6 and contain potassium, magnesium, folic acid, and antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin, which are good for eye health. In addition, they are easily digested and do not cause allergic reactions, so this vegetable is often included in baby food and the composition of various diets. Zucchini is about 95% water, which makes it an excellent product for hydrating the body. Nutritionists say that zucchini season is a great time to turn to a healthy diet. Or at least significantly diversify your usual summer menu.

Have you had enough of fried zucchini with garlic and mayonnaise, zucchini caviar, and fritters with greens? These three famous zucchini dishes are not the only ones that can be cooked. In skilled hands, this vegetable can become anything — from soups and salads to delicacies in which you will not recognize zucchini at all.

So, if the zucchinis are already advancing, we do not retreat but start cooking them.

How does it work?

Ingredients:

• zucchini – 350 g;
  
• cucumbers – 350 g;
  
• tomatoes – 350 g;
  
• dill – a small bunch;
  
• garlic – 3 cloves;
  
• allspice – 10 pcs.;
  
• salt 1 tsp.

Method:

1. Peel the zucchini and cut it into cubes. Then, put it in a bag, add halved cucumbers and tomatoes, chopped dill and garlic, allspice, and salt.
2. Mix well and refrigerate for 12 hours. While serving, sprinkle with oil.

Ingredients:

• zucchini – 300 g;
• chicken fillet – 260 g;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• cherry tomatoes – 100 g;
• olive oil – 1/2 tbsp. l.;
• fresh green basil;
• salt and pepper.

Method:

1. This salad's feature is the way the ingredients are cut. Therefore, you need to cut the fillet into thin slices and the zucchini into small cubes (do not remove the skin), chop the garlic with a knife, and simply cut the tomatoes in half. As soon as all the ingredients are prepared, you can start cooking. ⠀
2. Heat a pan with olive oil and fry the garlic until golden. The garlic will give the oil the aroma we need for the salad.
   Add fillet slices and fry until golden brown on maximum heat for two to three minutes. Add zucchini and continue frying for another two minutes.
3. Add green basil at the end of cooking — just tear it with your hands and top off with some tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• onion – 1 pc.;
• garlic – 3-4 cloves;
• butter – 50 g;
• 2-3 medium potatoes
• zucchini – 2-3 pcs.;
• salt, spices – to taste;
• cream – 200 ml;
• croutons, greens for decoration.

Method:

1. Fry onions and garlic in butter. You can do it immediately in the pan in which you will cook.
2. Add potatoes and zucchini, cut into cubes, and fry everything together for 3-5 minutes.
3. Pour water over the vegetables, so that the water barely reaches the level of the vegetables; add salt, spices and cook until ready. Pour in the warm cream and beat everything with a blender.
4. Serve the soup warm, with crackers and chopped greens.

Ingredients:

• zucchini – 500 g;
• any minced meat – 400 g;
• chicken egg – 1 pc.;
• onion – 1 pc.;
• garlic, greens, spices – to taste.

Method:

1. Grate zucchini on a medium grater. Gently squeeze out the liquid. Grind onion, garlic, and greens in the usual way. Add salt, black pepper, parsley, marjoram and garlic.
2. Combine squeezed zucchini, minced meat, and egg in a bowl and mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and prepare a homogeneous minced meat.
3. Leave the minced meat to rest for 10 minutes. At this time, prepare a baking sheet and oven. Grease a warm baking sheet with vegetable oil. Set the oven to 180°. Form medium-sized patties and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake the patties for about 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

• medium zucchini – 2 pcs.;
• tomatoes – 4 pcs.;
• eggs – 4 pcs.;
• garlic – 4 cloves;
• oil – 2-3 tablespoons;
• sour cream – 2 tbsp..;
• salt, pepper, herbs

Method:

1. Cut the zucchini into not very small cubes and fry in oil until soft.
2. Cut the tomatoes, add them to the zucchini, and simmer for 5 minutes until the tomatoes are ready.
3. Beat the eggs and pour over the vegetables. Continue stewing until the eggs are ready, stirring occasionally.
4. Add sour cream, salt, and pepper. After 3 minutes, add greens and garlic, cover with a lid, and simmer until ready for 2 minutes.

Ingredients:

• zucchini – 450 g;
• kefir – 300 ml;
• eggs – 4 pcs.;
• flour – 350 g;
• sunflower oil – 1-2 tbsp.;
• parsley or dill – 2 tbsp..;
• salt – 1 teaspoon;
• soda – 0.5 tsp;
• butter for greasing ready-made pancakes.

Method:

1. Grate the zucchini on a fine grater or puree with a blender.
2. Add beaten eggs, salt, kefir, chopped greens and mix everything.
3. Gradually add flour, kneading a dough that is not too thick.
4. Add soda and oil to the dough and mix. Let the dough sit for 20 minutes.
5. Grease a heated pan with oil. Form pancakes and fry on both sides until golden. Grease the finished pancakes with butter.

Life hack: you can freeze the grated zucchinis and then enjoy zucchini pancakes in the winter. To do this, chop the zucchini, garlic, and salt in a blender. Add a little flour and pour into containers. If necessary, defrost, add other ingredients necessary for pancakes, and fry as in the summer.

Ingredients:

• zucchini – 500 g;
• salt – 1.5 tsp;
• ground black pepper – to taste;
• egg – 1 pc.;
• flour – 80-90 g (4 tablespoons)
• ham – 60 g;
• cheese – 60 g;
• vegetable oil for frying.

Method:

1. Grate the zucchini on a large grater, add salt, mix, and wait until the juice is released.
2. Meanwhile, grate the cheese and ham.
3. Squeeze the zucchini from excess liquid, add pepper, egg, flour and mix.
4. Place the batter in portions on the pan and level it. Add the filling on top. When the zucchini pancake is fried from the bottom, fold it in half directly in the pan and press it tightly.
5. Fry the cheburek until golden brown.

Ingredients:

• zucchini – 500 g;
• onion – 1 pc.;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• carrot – 1 pc.;
• processed cottage cheese – 2 pcs.;
• olive oil – 3 tbsp. L.;
• salt, pepper, dill – to taste.

Method:

1. Wash and clean the vegetables. Cut zucchini into cubes, dill, onion, and garlic into small pieces, and grate carrots on a large grater.
2. Fry onions and carrots in a frying pan.
3. Add garlic, zucchini, salt, and pepper. Fry for another 5 minutes, stirring, cover with a lid, and stew until the zucchini is soft.
4. Put the stewed vegetables in a deep bowl, add the melted cheese and chopped greens, and blend with a blender to a uniform consistency.
5. Put the finished paste in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
6. Enjoy with a toasted baguette, salad, and boiled egg.

A simple, tasty, and healthy recipe for sugar-free zucchini-apple-banana pastila. Great for overripe zucchini with rough skin and big unchewable seeds.

Ingredients:

• Zucchini pulp – 500 g;
• apples – 500 g;
• 1 large banana.

Method:

1. Remove the skin from the zucchini and remove the seeds. Peel apples and bananas.
2. Finely chop the zucchini and apples and put them in a blender.
3. Add 100 ml of water to the blender. Turn it on and watch how the products are mixed. If necessary, add a little more water.
4. Add a banana to the blender. Mix everything to a homogeneous mass.
5. Lubricate the pastille trays with oil.
6. Pour the mass from the blender onto the pallets and carefully flatten it to a thickness of about 5-6 mm, preferably 1-2 mm thicker at the edges.
7. In the electric dryer, set the temperature to 50-55 C and dry for about 10 hours (depending on the dryer).