Because a single zucchini plant produces a quantity that can be hard to keep up with, and because it’s technically available year-round, it is easy to take for granted. Zucchini is zucchini is zucchini, without much seasonal variation, right?
Not really.
Early-season zucchini, before fall’s hot weather sets in, is mostly small, bright, and crisp, with a high ratio of skin to flesh, which keeps it from becoming watery, stops it from falling apart when cut in certain ways, and has much more flavor than large zukes. Now is the time to savor zucchini at its peak.
The best zucchini are just 5 to 6 inches long. They can be cut into long ribbons for such dishes as zucchini carbonara. Halved lengthwise, they are delicious grilled, topped with yogurt-tahini sauce and Italian-style salsa verde. Grated, zucchini make wonderful fritters, salsa, frittatas, and soup, best chilled and topped with a big spoonful of plain whole-milk yogurt.
My favorite way to enjoy zucchini is this pizza, which is unlike the “zucchini pizza” you typically see in pizzerias, where round slices are set on top of pizza sauce, its flavor and texture lost in the mélange. This pizza puts zucchini center stage with supporting ingredients that highlight its characteristics. If you’re in too much of a hurry to make pizza, prepare the ingredients in the same way, slather good sourdough bread with mayonnaise, and build it as you would a pizza. Pop it under the broiler until the cheese is melted and you have a fabulous summer sandwich in minutes.
Zucchini Pizza with Garlic, Avocado and Lemon
Serves 4 to 6
1 pizza dough, homemade or store-bought
Coarse-ground cornmeal or polenta
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded and minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 small-medium (each about 5 to 6 inches long) zucchini, grated on the large blade of a box grater
Kosher salt
Black pepper in a mill
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
6 oz. cheese, such as Monterey Jack, grated
1 ripe but firm Hass avocado, cut into slices
3 tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
First, prepare the pizza dough according to its recipe or, if commercial, its instructions.
If not using an outside pizza oven, set a pizza stone or baking tiles in the center of the middle rack of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees for at least 30 minutes. If using a pizza oven, follow its directions.
Sprinkle the surface of a baker’s paddle or the bottom of a sheet pan generously with cornmeal or polenta. Use your hands to slowly stretch the dough into a thin roundish disk about 10 to 12 inches in diameter and gently set it on top of the cornmeal.
Drizzle the olive oil over the dough and scatter half the serrano and half the garlic over it.
Put the zucchini and the remaining serrano and garlic into a bowl and toss lightly. Season with salt and pepper and scatter over the pizza dough, using all of it. Drizzle with the lemon juice and spread the cheese on top.
Transfer the pizza from the paddle to the baking stone or tile and cook until the crust is golden brown around the edges and the cheese is hot and bubbly, about 13 minutes, or a little longer depending on the thickness of the dough.
Transfer the pizza to a work surface and let it rest for about 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the avocado into lengthwise slices. Cut the pizza into eight wedges and top each wedge with avocado. Season with salt and pepper, scatter some of the cilantro on each slice, and enjoy right away, with a lemon wedge alongside for squeezing over the entire slice.