Recipe: A Tangy Twist on Zucchini

Summer isn’t over yet, so grab your fresh veggies, fire up the grill and make this tangy, refreshing chili lime zucchini dish.

This recipe comes from Sheridan McLaren — an Edmonton-based private chef with a background in nutrition and a Red Seal from NAIT’s culinary program. Currently he specializes in meal prep for athletes and in-home dinner parties. This chili lime zucchini recipe is featured in Healthy Family Recipes, a cookbook McLaren wrote for Canadian cookbook publisher Company’s Coming.

This tantalizing combination of tender zucchini, hot pepper and cool mint is simple to create, and it’s a great way to use up your garden-grown (or store-bought) bounty.

Chili Lime Zucchini Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh mint chopped
• ½ tsp salt (divided in half)
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• ½ tsp dry chili flakes
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 4 green zucchini – sliced ¼ inch thick at a 45 degree angle

Instructions

1. Preheat grill on high.
2. In a bowl whisk together oil, mint, ¼ tsp salt, pepper, chili and lime.
3. Brush mixture onto zucchini slices and lay out on the grill.
4. Char each slice for about 90 seconds on each side – zucchini should just begin to soften.
5. Remove from the grill, sprinkle with remaining salt and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes.
6. Optional: serve with mint garnish on top.

Chef’s note: zucchini cooks quickly and will continue to cook even once it is removed from the grill. Make sure your grill is very hot before adding the zucchini to get proper charring and prevent it from getting mushy.