Zucchini Sott'Olio -- a zucchini recipe!

Is your garden giving you its last blast of veggies? Are you overwhelmed with anonymous gift bags of zucchini from your neighbors? Did you just lift a leaf in your garden and discover a zucchini longboat hiding underneath?

Who knows better what to do with mountains of zucchini than true Italians?

Our dear friends Sara & Maurizio (from Varese) came for their SEVENTH visit to La Tour de Cause B&B a few weeks ago -- and brought with them the secret for "Zucchini Sott'Olio." We happened to have a few too many zukes at the time, so Sara generously jumped into the kitchen and showed us the way.

NOTE:  This is a bit of a freeform "Depends" recipe.  Depends on how many zucchini you have...by the time you reach the stage that you'll be putting the zucchini in jars, you'll have an idea how many containers you'll need and what sizes. You'll need  widemouth jars; wider and shorter is better than taller and narrow. Have a few different ones available, and see how many you can fill.

I used about eight medium zucchini, and ended up nearly filling a one-liter (one quart plus) wide mouth jar. I could've put in another zucchini, possibly even two more, if I'd had them.

You'll also need a large, flat-bottom receptacle for salting, then soaking the zucchini. I used a stainless steel pasta pot, but you could use a large, flat bottomed bowl or even a small dishpan. Just be sure it's non-reactive. And you'll need something to press down on the salted zucchini. A plate and something heavy (bricks? stones? another pot full of water?).

You'll also need a little bit of time on three consecutive days -- then three weeks of patience while your zucchini soak up all the herbs and seasonings you're going to feed them.

Step one is cutting the zucchini, then salting them to remove the water.

Step two is soaking the de-watered zukes in white vinegar.

We cut ours into 2" to 3" sections, then into 8 or 10 spears.

Step three is assembling the zucchini and other ingredients and covering with olive oil.

Then time will work its magic.

#1. DAY ONE. Choose about ten medium zucchini, wash them, dry them, and cut them into two-inch lengths. Don't fret a lot about the exact dimensions -- you ultimately want slender pieces you can eat in one or two bites. Try to make them of a consistent size.

Petanque balls make great weights!

   Put the slice zucchini into your pasta pot or other flat bottomed bowl or pan, and add about a 1/4-cup of coarse sea salt. Use your hands or a big spoon to gently lift and mix the zucchini to distribute the salt.

   Then put a plate or smaller pot on the zukes and put weights on top to press down firmly on the salted zukes. (I used the pasta strainer on top, with a plastic bag of petanque balls for weights!) Let this sit for 24 hours. You'll be amazed by how much water appears!

#2. DAY TWO. Take out your weights and drain off all the water. The volume of zucchini will be much reduced after all that water has gone away. Now you can begin to get an idea of how many and what size jar(s) you'll need. Leave the veggies in that original salting pan, cover the zucchini with a good cooking-quality white vinegar and let this sit for another 24 hours. You might want to put a cover on this so your kitchen doesn't reek of vinegar. (Doesn't the smell of vinegar always remind you of coloring Easter eggs?)

#3. DAY THREE. Assembly time. Gather a healthy collection of sprigs of rosemary, thyme, and fresh basil, or other herbs of your choice. You'll also need half a dozen peeled cloves of garlic, an onion or two, and black peppercorns.

Drain the vinegar off the zucchini and discard (the vinegar, dummy, not the zucchini!).

Begin laying the spears in the jar

Lay your beautiful, clean jar on its side and begin arranging your zucchini spears on the side of the jar, so that when the jar is upright you'll see them standing up like soldiers. Gradually intersperse segments of sliced onion, garlic cloves, sprigs of your fresh herbs, among the layers of zucchini spears.

Continue turning the jar and adding more zucchini, onion, garlic and herbs, with an occasional few black peppercorns.

If you're feeling adventuresome, try adding two or three spicy red or green peppers, or thin slices of red bell peppers.

Lay in more of your ingredients, turning the jar bit by bit, until you've got a pretty well-packed jar. Put the jar upright, and layer in more zucchini and friends until you've nearly filled the jar. Strew a few more garlic cloves, herbs and peppercorns over the top.

  Then,  slowly pour a good  olive oil into the zukes, to cover all.

IMPORTANT -- For the next few days, trapped air will need to escape from between all the goodies in your jar. Use a cake skewer or thin knife blade to carefully probe between the spears to release the small air bubbles. Slide the knife blade carefully down the side of the jar, then gently press against the zucchini...you'll see little bubbles of air work their way up to the top.

Do this occasionally for several days until no more bubbles appear.

Now, wait patiently for at least three weeks until you allow yourself to sample the best zucchini you've ever eaten!

Thanks to Sara and Maurizio Santini for sharing their culinary expertise and secret recipe.
Sara says for a fantastic alternate version, try using all those GREEN TOMATOES!