LAST HURAH OF THE GIANT ZUCCHINI

Last night I was trying to come up a recipe that utilized the leftover GIANT zucchini that our friends gave us from their garden. It was the first 'fall' day of the season in Portland and something warm and filling sounded good. It was delicious and super easy. I found this recipe on simplysugarandglutenfree. I used Muir Glen tomatoes (with basil) and they worked great.

I have included a great fall song to cook, eat and sip wine to. Enjoy!

Wye Oak - Civilian by cityslang

Stewed Zucchini & Chickpeas
adapted from 1000 Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Gelles 
serves 4 – 6

1 tablespoon good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/2 of a large onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves of garlic, grated on a microplane
28 ounces of whole tomatoes in the juice
5 to 6 cups of zucchini, quarted and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cups cooked chickpeas (canned will work, too)
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon whole greek oregano
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, or to taste

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium low heat.  Add onion and saute until soft, 5 – 8 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for another minute.  Add tomatoes with juice.  Use your wooden spoon to break up the tomatoes into small pieces.  Add zucchini, chickpeas, basil, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a low boil then reduce to a simmer.  Allow to simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered, or until zucchini is still slightly firm.

Serve over oven baked polenta

Here is the recipe... It is much easier than I thought! I used rice milk and it added a slightly sweet flavor to it which I really enjoyed

Oven Baked Polenta
serves 4 – 6

3/4 cup stone ground cornmeal
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 cups filtered water
1/4 cup 1% milk or more water for dairy-free
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional)
additional filtered water if necessary

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Put cornmeal, salt, and pepper into a 2 – 3 quart casserole dish. Add filtered water and whisk together. Cover with lid or aluminum foil. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and carefully whisk again. Return to oven and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove your so-simple-to-make polenta from the oven, stir in milk and butter. Add additional filtered water to reach desired consistency. (I usually add 1/2 to 3/4 cup.)