Easy Baked Zucchini
2 medium zucchinis sliced into ½-inch rounds
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
⅓ cup parmesan cheese shredded, divided
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Toss zucchini slices with olive oil, seasoning, salt & pepper and about 2 tablespoons of the
parmesan cheese.
Place on a baking sheet and top with remaining parmesan cheese. Bake 5 minutes.
Turn oven to broil, place pan near the top and broil 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted and zucchini is tender crisp.
Easy Summer Pasta
1 ¾ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 medium zucchinis
1 eggplant, cut into ¾-inch cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil
2 teaspoons mixed dried herbs (such as Herbes de Provence)
1 pinch salt, plus more to taste
2 ¾ ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into medium strips
1 ½ cups penne pasta (or 3 cups cooked penne)
3 tablespoons crème fraiche or ricotta cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Reserve about ½ cup of the tomatoes for garnishing.
On a rimmed baking sheet, arrange the remaining tomatoes.
Cut the zucchinis in half lengthwise, then cut into half-moons about ¾-inch thick.
Add to the baking sheet with the tomatoes, along with the eggplant, oil, herbs, and a big pinch of salt.
Toss to combine and roast, tossing halfway through, for about 1 hour, until the vegetables are nicely caramelized.
After 45 minutes, scatter the mozzarella over the top of the vegetables and return to the oven for the final 15 minutes so the cheese melts.
Meanwhile, cook pasta to al dente (this will generally be the shorter cooking time on the package directions).
Drain, reserving ½ cup of the pasta water, and return the pasta to the saucepan.
To the saucepan with the pasta, add the vegetables and cheese along with the crème fraiche and a splash of reserved pasta water.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and toss to combine.
Scatter the reserved tomatoes over the pasta.
Summer Lasagna
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 to 4 cloves garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
2 small zucchini or summer squash, chopped
1 teaspoon basil
1 quart spaghetti sauce
9 lasagna noodles
1 bunch kale (half a clear bag), chopped
1 ½ cups cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
1 beaten egg
¼ teaspoon salt
Black pepper to taste
½ pound mozzarella cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
Heat oil in saucepan and sauté garlic, onion, zucchini, and kale.
Stir in basil and spaghetti sauce and allow to simmer over low heat while you prepare the rest of the lasagna.
Cook noodles in boiling water until just tender.
Drain and rinse with cold water.
Mix Cottage cheese or ricotta and egg together.
Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Oil the bottom of 9 x 13-inch pan.
Layer 1/3 of the noodles, cottage cheese, sauce, and mozzarella cheese, then do that twice more.
Top it with parmesan cheese.
Bake for 40 minutes.
One of our members has made a version of this, which she calls “Open Hands Lasagna,” in which she substitutes the kale with any of the many greens she needs to use up in her refrigerator!
Baked Spaghetti Squash with Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
For the squash:
1 medium spaghetti squash
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
For the sauce:
2 red bell peppers
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Dash of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup packed fresh basil, coarsely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Brush cut sides of squash with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Place squash, cut sides down, on a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake until tender, about 45 minutes.
While the squash is baking, make the creamy roasted red pepper sauce.
Roast red peppers over gas flame, under the broiler, or on the grill for about 10 minutes, or until peppers are completely black.
Place peppers in a paper bag to allow to sweat.
Peel the charred skins from the peppers and remove the seeds.
Chop the peppers and set aside.
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Add onion and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes.
Stir in garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the red peppers and diced tomatoes.
Add oregano, red pepper flakes, fresh basil, and season with salt and pepper.
Simmer on stove for 10 minutes.
Stir in the Greek yogurt.
Purée the sauce in the pan, using an immersion blender. You can also transfer the sauce to a blender or food processor, but be careful. Make sure the sauce is not super hot so you don’t get burnt. Puree until smooth, with some texture remaining.
When the squash is done baking, let it cool for a few minutes — until you can touch it.
Scrape the squash with a fork to remove flesh in long strands.
Place in a large bowl or on individual plates.
Top spaghetti squash with the creamy roasted red pepper sauce and serve warm.
No-Bake Summer Lasagna
1/2 cup ricotta
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 lasagna noodles, broken in half crosswise
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 pints grape tomatoes, halved
2 zucchini (about 1 pound total), halved if large and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon torn fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving
In a small bowl, combine ricotta, Parmesan, and 2 teaspoons oil; season with salt and pepper.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles according to package instructions; drain.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high.
Add garlic and tomatoes; season with salt and pepper.
Cook, stirring, until slightly broken down, about 3 minutes.
Transfer tomatoes to a bowl.
Add 1 tablespoon oil and zucchini to skillet; season with salt and pepper.
Cook, stirring, until zucchini are tender, about 5 minutes.
Transfer to another bowl and stir in basil.
Place some tomatoes on four plates; top with a noodle and small spoonfuls ricotta, zucchini, and more tomatoes.
Repeat layering twice, then top with remaining noodles and tomatoes.
Garnish with basil.
Cheesy Stuffed Summer Squash
6 squashes
½ lb bacon
¼ cup chopped onion
¾ cup breadcrumbs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Paprika
Salt and pepper
Boil the squash 10 minutes until softened.
When cooled enough to handle, remove the stems and cut in half lengthwise.
Remove the pulp.
Cook the bacon until crisp.
Sauté the onion in 2T bacon drippings.
Add crumbled bacon, breadcrumbs and squash pulp.
Fill the squash shells.
Top each shell with cheese.
Broil until melted.
Sprinkle with paprika.
Summer Squash Sauté
2 pounds summer squash and/or zucchini, cut into matchsticks
1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more
¼ cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper
Place squash in a colander set in the sink or over a large bowl and toss with 1 teaspoon salt.
Let squash stand 10 minutes, then squeeze well to remove as much excess moisture as possible (do not rinse).
Meanwhile, toast almonds in a large dry skillet over medium heat, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
Heat oil in same skillet over medium heat.
Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add squash and cook, tossing occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Fold in Parmesan and season with salt and pepper.
Fold in almonds.
Spicy Summer Squash and Corn Quesadillas
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
Kernels from 1 ear of corn
1 small zucchini, diced
1 summer squash, diced
½ jalapeño, minced (optional)
¼ cup salsa
2 teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
Juice from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
8 6-inch flour tortillas
1-2 cups nondairy or regular cheese
In a medium skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5-6 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
Add the remaining vegetables, olive oil, salsa, spices, and lemon juice.
Cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring often and adding a splash of water if necessary to loosen the mixture.
Season with salt.
Heat a large skillet coated with a bit of oil and add tortilla.
Top with 2 Tablespoons cheese, 1/3 cup of the vegetable mixture, a bit more cheese, and another tortilla.
Flatten with a spatula and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until the tortillas are lightly browned and the cheese is melted.
Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
Zucchini Corn Fritters
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
¼ cup butter, melted
2 cups grated zucchini
1½ cups corn kernels
1 cup finely shredded Cheddar
Oil for frying
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cumin, sugar, salt, and pepper.
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and butter.
Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Stir in the zucchini, corn, and cheese, mix well.
Fill the bottom of a cast-iron skillet with about ½ inch of oil.
Heat the oil over medium-high heat and then drop the batter by tablespoonfuls into the hot oil.
Fry in batches, adding more oil as necessary, until the fritters are puffy, crisp, and golden brown, turning once with tongs (about 60-90 seconds per side).
Remove to drain on paper towels.
Potato, Squash & Goat Cheese Gratin
2 medium yellow squash, about 1/2 pound
4 small to medium red potatoes, about 1 pound
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces goat cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup whole milk
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon thinly sliced basil or thyme leaves
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Lightly grease a 1 ½ to 2-quart casserole dish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Use a mandolin or chef’s knife to slice the squash and potatoes into very, very thin slices, 1/8-inch or less. Toss the sliced vegetables with the 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large bowl.
Place 1/3 of the squash and potato slices in the bottom of the dish — no need to layer them squash-potato-squash; just spread evenly — then season with salt and pepper.
Top with half of the goat cheese, scattered evenly in large chunks.
Repeat with another 1/3 of the vegetables, seasoning again with salt and pepper and topping with the other 1/2 of the goat cheese.
Finish by layering on the final 1/3 of the vegetables and seasoning with salt and pepper.
Pour the milk over the entire dish. T
op with the parmesan cheese.
Bake, covered, for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 more minutes, until the top browns.
Scatter on the fresh basil, if using.
Serves 6.
Open Hands Farm 