Our BBQ/Grilling expert Joi Disroe takes a break from the grill this month and shares with us the latest object of her culinary obesession, Zucchini! ~ Heather Watkins Jones
A lot of excitement was stirred when United States, Allyson Felix won the 200m finals on August 8th. August 8th, was also a holiday – National Zucchini Day. Did anyone drop off zucchini at your door or bring some into work with a sticky note “Help yourself to the Zucchini”? Well, that’s how National Zucchini Day was begun. Zucchini doesn’t get much recognition. You would think it would get more press; when it comes to nutrition, Zucchini is packed with lots of Vitamin A and C and only 16 calories. Instead of Wheaties, maybe Allyson ate her “Zucchini”.
In French, the word zucchini is for a vegetable or “courgette” and is commonly used in France, Ireland and the UK. “Zucca” is the Italian word for squash and “zucchini” is the plural masculine form and known as a fruit. So, it’s a vegetable/fruit. According to good ole Wikipedia, the first records of zucchini in the United States back to early 1920s, by Italian immigrants and was first cultivated in the US in California.
I love me some zucchini! The dishes and uses are limitless. I admit I’ve stuck to the faithful 3Z’s, such as the basic sautéed Zucchini, Zucchini Casserole and one of my all- time favorites Zucchini Lasagna. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a grilled veggie patter filled with grilled veggies drizzled with a bit of olive oil and balsamic glaze. It’s a perfect dish with any grilled meats. Check out an earlier post on Rice Oil, which I think will provide the same effect and taste as the olive oil.
Yet, it’s time to change it up a bit. I needed to seek inspiration….“ Hello Pinterest”. If you haven’t heard of Pinterest by now, you must be a crawled up in a hole somewhere. Its the hottest growing social media site next to Facebook. I had a few Zucchini recipes on my board already, but when I ran a search for other Zucchini boards a whole garden full of pins came up. I ran across a pin recipe for Black Bean and Chard Tacos with Zucchini-Avocado Salsa. The original recipe comes from Bon Appetit.
You can find the original recipe on my pinterest board here . I changed it up a bit. Of course you can add or take away any main ingredient filler, it’s all based upon your own taste buds. I added smoked chicken along with the black beans for our tacos, but the star of the show was definitely the salsa. Unfortunately, I didn’t get pictures. The BBQman was gobbling up the tacos before I had a chance to grab the camera. Smoke or grill a little chicken and give these bad boys a try, they are Zucchini-delicious!
Zucchini-avocado Salsa
1 Zucchini½ c cilantro
¼ cup chopped red onion
Zest from 1 lime and juice from 2 limes
pinch of cayenne or 1 tsp chopped jalapeno (which I did receive fresh from the a friends garden) in place of the cayenne I used a milder Cajun spice blend since I had the jalapeno
½ tsp honey
1 small avocado diced
Salt & pepper to taste
Toss all of the ingredients in a bowl and let the salsa sit for at least a half hour to let the flavors meld together. Serve with the tacos of your choice.
The Blacker The Berry Food “Grilling and BBQ Expert” Joi Disroe is The CFO (Chief Food Officer) at Meat-Me-At-The-Grill in Atlanta, GA. Click here to learn more about this mistress of Meat.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
This sounds delicious! Zucchini has become one of my absolute favorite vegetables. And I LOVE avocados too! Would have never tried to put those together, but I’m excited to try this combo. Thanks for sharing!