Zucchini with Almond, Onion and Tomato
This is a recipe I used to cook when I was a teenager. I had forgotten about it until recently, when my mother sent my old cooking books down from my hometown Sydney. It was great to read again, the recipes of which I used to cook as a culinary obsessed adolescent.
The original recipe for this dish included sweet caramelized almonds, and I must say I thought the idea rather novel at the time. Back then I made the dish without the caramelized almonds because my mother didn’t have an appreciation of sweet things in a savoury dish, and it was too radical to even think of adding the almonds. Now that I’m a big boy, I do include the sweet crunchy almonds. I always get my way in the end. Ha!
To prepare the caramelized almonds simple toss some blanched almonds with a bit of sugar, a pinch of salt and a tiny drizzle of oil in a pan. The sugar will melt and coat the almonds lightly. The almonds are ready when they have turned a golden brown colour.
It is a revolting 42c today here in Melbourne and I am beginning to feel the sweat dripping down my arm as I type (not the most glamorous of descriptions, but so it is). So I bid all farewell until next year. We hope everyone has a wonderful New Year-prosperous and full of delicious foods to eat and wine to drink.
Components
Extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
500 g zucchini (courgettes), sliced
400g tin Italian tomatoes, crushed with a fork
Stock
1 tsp dried Greek oregano
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
A handful of caramelized almonds (see story above)
Process
Heat the olive oil in a pan, and gently sauté the onion, garlic and oregano.
Add the zucchini (courgettes) and allow to very lightly brown- about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and enough stock to moisten the dish (about 100 ml or so). Cover the pan and simmer until the zucchinis are just cooked- cooking time shouldn’t be more 10 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve hot, warm or room temperature with the almonds sprinkled over the dish just before serving. Serves 4.
The original recipe for this dish included sweet caramelized almonds, and I must say I thought the idea rather novel at the time. Back then I made the dish without the caramelized almonds because my mother didn’t have an appreciation of sweet things in a savoury dish, and it was too radical to even think of adding the almonds. Now that I’m a big boy, I do include the sweet crunchy almonds. I always get my way in the end. Ha!
To prepare the caramelized almonds simple toss some blanched almonds with a bit of sugar, a pinch of salt and a tiny drizzle of oil in a pan. The sugar will melt and coat the almonds lightly. The almonds are ready when they have turned a golden brown colour.
It is a revolting 42c today here in Melbourne and I am beginning to feel the sweat dripping down my arm as I type (not the most glamorous of descriptions, but so it is). So I bid all farewell until next year. We hope everyone has a wonderful New Year-prosperous and full of delicious foods to eat and wine to drink.
ComponentsExtra virgin olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
500 g zucchini (courgettes), sliced
400g tin Italian tomatoes, crushed with a fork
Stock
1 tsp dried Greek oregano
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
A handful of caramelized almonds (see story above)
Process
Heat the olive oil in a pan, and gently sauté the onion, garlic and oregano.
Add the zucchini (courgettes) and allow to very lightly brown- about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and enough stock to moisten the dish (about 100 ml or so). Cover the pan and simmer until the zucchinis are just cooked- cooking time shouldn’t be more 10 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve hot, warm or room temperature with the almonds sprinkled over the dish just before serving. Serves 4.
