My mother, usually my most indulgent fan where this blog is concerned, took one look at the photo of my zucchini jam and firmly stated that the dish did not speak to her. It is true that this is not an impressive looking dish but, should you like zucchini as much as I do, you will probably spoon this straight out of the jar into gaping maw, as I did.
You can zhuzh the toast above with a sprinkling of herbs, or a squeeze of lemon juice. It would be equally good topped with a poached egg. You can mix the jam into pasta along with a generous sprinkling of grated Parmesan. You can add generous tablespoons of this to ground turkey or chicken to make beautifully moist and delicious meatballs. Cutting mayonnaise with a teaspoon or two of this jam takes a ham and cheese or tomato sandwich to a whole other level. Both potato and egg salad benefit from its presence. As I mentioned above, it does not look like much, but this will go fast because it is a nice little multitasker.
Makes 2 pint jars of this "jam".
2 small zucchini or 1 large
2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled but smashed
2 tsps butter
2 tsps olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Grate the zucchini, peel and all, on the large side of a box grater. Discard the ends.
Heat the oil and melt the butter along with the garlic cloves until the butter has completely melted.
Add all of the zucchini to the pan and salt and pepper lightly. Stir to combine, lower the heat to as low as possible, and cover.
Cook for five minutes undisturbed, before stirring and repeating. Do this until the zucchini has miraculously reabsorbed all of its liquid and is soft and unctuous. It took me 20 minutes to reach this stage.
Inspiration recipe, here.