Last week we talked about tomatoes; This week is all about our zucchini enthusiasm, with recipes dedicated to the simple magic of summer. Although I love zucchini, I don’t like mushy and watery zucchini, so it’s important to rely on recipes and techniques that show it best.
As usual here at Five Weeknight Dishes, we’re focusing on dinner recipes, but don’t ignore zucchini’s other divine purpose: as a baking ingredient. Zucchini bread, zucchini muffins, and chocolate zucchini loaf cake are all worth your time. Tell me what you’re thinking and doing at Dearemily@nytimes.com. Next week: corn!
2. Chicken tray with zucchini and basil
Zucchini rarely plays a starring role in dinner meals—but why not? It’s delicious when left alone to caramelize in the pan (don’t pressure it), which is what it does here alongside bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in Melissa Clark’s recipe. Use two trays if you need to feed more than two or three people, rather than crowding one tray.
View this recipe.
3. Zucchini scampi
The world of shrimp expands with this recipe from Ali Slagle, which takes the absolutely delicious garlic butter sauce from giant shrimp and applies it to zucchini rounds. I would double the sauce and serve it with pasta, and it would be a flawless side dish for salmon.