Stewed Zucchini Recipe

The Tomato Challenge Recipe #2

This is the Second recipe in the Tomato Challenge.  Read the Tomato Challenge Blog post here. You can see the whole challenge here on YouTube.

This recipe can be easily converted to vegan by using plant based cheeses and substituting the honey with vegan honey or beet sugar.

Stewed Zucchini

Ingredients

4 c water

4 c Ice water

3 small tomatoes

2 small yellow squash

1 medium Zucchini

1 medium onion

3 cloves of garlic (minced)

½ t. crushed red pepper

2 T Extra virgin olive oil

2 T. Fresh Basil, (chopped)

1 T fresh Oregano (chopped)

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

1 t. Balsamic vinegar

1 t. honey

1 T shredded parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Bring 4 c. water to a boil in a sauce pan.  Fill a bowl with the ice water and set aside.  Place the tomatoes in the boiling water and allow to simmer until the skins begin to crack.  When skins crack open, remove the tomatoes from the pan with a slotted spoon and place immediately in the ice water bath to stop the cooking process and allow to cool.  (You can also roast the tomatoes to loosen the skins or skip this step, and go straight to chopping your tomatoes along with the other veggies if you’re in a hurry, but you will have bits of rolled up tomato skins in your dish.)

Rinse the zucchini and yellow squash. Remove the ends, and chop into 1-inch pieces.  Peel the onion, remove the ends, and chop into 1-inch pieces.   When the tomatoes are cooled, peel off the loose skins, remove the stem and blossom ends and chop the tomatoes into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the extra-virgin olive oil and add the onions.  Let the onions cook, stirring occasionally until they become tender and transparent.  Stir in the crushed red pepper and the garlic.  Sauté for a minute or two until the garlic becomes deliciously fragrant. 

Add the zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes.  Stir to combine.  Add the basil and oregano and season with salt and pepper.  Pour in the can of tomato sauce and stir.  Add the honey and the balsamic vinegar.  Stir.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and allow the mixture to simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the liquid has reduced and thickened.

Sprinkle the parmesan and mozzarella cheeses on top of the mixture—do not stir it in.  Season again with salt and pepper.  Turn off the heat and cover the pan to allow the cheese to melt before serving.