It's the beginning of my favorite season for cooking, and one of my favorite veggies (zucchini) is in huge abundance and super cheap! I had some grape tomatoes that were a bit too soft for salads, so today I decided to stew them with zucchini & onions. A tasty substitution for zucchini in this recipe could be okra or yellow squash. This could easily be made into a meal by serving it with chicken sausage like Al fresco (which I've found to have the lowest sodium contents of most sausage brands) or serve it over brown rice for a meatless dish. Another plus...by incorporating more herbs and spices to this dish, you can easily cut down on the sodium content!
- 2 large zucchini's
- 1 cup coarsely chopped yellow onion (~1/2 of a large onion)
- 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
- 2 cloves chopped garlic
- 1.5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp each, salt & pepper
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- dash cayenne pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- Parmesan cheese (optional)
Cut ends off zucchini's and slice lengthwise in half; then slice again so it is in quarters; and dice into large chunks (about a 3/4 inch dice). Heat up a pan (one with a lid) to med-high heat and add olive oil to it. An iron skillet would be a good choice if you have it. When oil is heated add garlic & cook to light golden yellow. Stir in chopped onion and cook for ~2 minutes until the onion is golden. Next, add in your zucchini and oregano through the bay leaf. Cook for 2-3 minutes until zucchini begins to lightly brown. Lastly stir in the tomatoes, cover the pan and reduce heat to low. After about 15 minutes the tomatoes should pop open and the dish should resemble to a stew-consistency. If you would like, top with grated Parmesan cheese & enjoy!
