Zucchini alla Puttanesca is a great dish - hot, fast, saucy and spicy, just like its namesake; "puttanesca" is Italian for, ahem, prostitute.
Just 15 minutes is all you need - 5 for prep, 10 for cooking - and you have an amazingly fragrant and fabulous dish. It can be spooned over rice or pasta, stirred into soup, placed into tortillas, served as a side dish ... the choice is yours.
Tom and I found some of the vegetables we needed for this zesty dish at the Wednesday evening Farmers Market, which offers a wide variety of vendors (farmers, bakers, pizza and tamales) and even live music.
Avalon Housing's Edible Avalon program had a table there, which was absolutely laden with gorgeous produce! Everything had been lovingly tended in a Project Grow garden plot, and was being sold to benefit the non-profit and its residents.
The various area farmers' markets are offering an abundance of beautiful vegetables now, and this dish is an ideal way to put them to good use!
Zucchini alla Puttanesca [ah-lah pooh-tahn-ESS-kah]
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
several splashes of cayenne pepper sauce
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup white wine (I used Flip Flop Wines Riesling, a most generous marketing gift!)
1 fat 8" zucchini, cut into 1/2" cubes
8 Kalamata olives, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
In a large skillet, heat oil, vinegar, and cayenne pepper sauce over medium heat; add garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, salt and wine; cook, stirring occasionally, until wine is just starting to boil. Add zucchini and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add olives and tomato; cook 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
Serves 2-4.
I didn't know that tidbit of information about puttanesca! I'm always learning something new over here. Your puttanesca looks fantastic. I love the idea of putting it inside of a tortilla! I would have never thought of doing that. It's a must try with all of this zucchini coming out of the garden these days. Have a beautiful Wednesday, Candace
ReplyDeleteI love puttanesca... never thought to do it like this!! You could even serve it over pasta.. not that you have to, I'm just sayin' it would be good :)
ReplyDeleteMy generous neighbor keeps bringing over zucchini and I don't have the heart to tell her that I still haven't cooked what she brought over last week (yikes!). This just may be a new way for me to use some of it. Great recipe.
ReplyDelete