Endless Zucchini is All Right by Me 

[
    
      {
        "name": "Top Stories Video Pair",
        "insertPoint": "7",
        "component": "17087298",
        "parentWrapperClass": "fdn-ads-inline-content-block",
        "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
      }
    
    ]

Like every year, I planted a few zucchini starters at the beginning of summer. Like every year, I mismanaged the plants and harvested nothing. An exuberant growth of leaf lettuce and arugula provided consolation — and large salads. Fortunately, zucchini and summer squash have been plentiful at farmers markets and farm stands around the county, so I have abundant raw material for a yearly tradition of mine: creating a new zucchini recipe.

This year I decided to include sweet peppers and tomatoes in the ingredient list. Any variety of Capsicum annuum that lacks heat, measured with the Scoville scale, is called a sweet pepper. Sweet peppers bring color and flavor to the summer table. Beside bell peppers, the sweet department offers options like purple or variegated varieties and elongated or squat shapes. Farmers usually display peppers in a way that separates sweet and spicy ones. I usually double-check my understanding of the arrangement before finalizing my purchase, so I don't end up with a hotter-than-expected pepper in a dish.

Thyme is probably my favorite fresh herb and I like to sprinkle a generous dose of its leaves on many of my dishes, including this one.

The first few times I made this dish, I seasoned it with Vadouvan, an aromatic spice blend that is the French interpretation of curry flavors. There are various versions of the blend from different brands. I came up with a combination of spices that does not aspire to be an exact rendition but in my opinion works well with the selected vegetables. As always, feel free to tweak the recipe to dial up or down any of the flavors.

One way I like to eat this side dish is to spoon some into a bowl where I placed some crumbled fresh goat cheese. I let the vegetables' heat soften the cheese, stir and enjoy for a decadent side dish.

Roasted Zucchini, Sweet Peppers and Tomatoes

Serves 3-4.

Slender green zucchini, yellow zucchini, or Costata Romanesco, and small pattypan squash are all options for use in this dish. Mixing varieties is also good.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

8 ounces ripe tomatoes (Trinity or other juicy globe tomato variety)

12 ounces zucchini 8 ounces sweet peppers (corno di toro or other variety) or red bell pepper

2 tablespoons minced garlic cloves

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

¼ teaspoon ground fenugreek

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground yellow mustard

1 teaspoon ground coriander

¼ teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes

½ to 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste

Heat the oven to 375 F.

Distribute half the olive oil on the bottom of a 3-quart (13-by-9-by-2-inch) glass baking dish.

Chop the tomatoes.

Trim tops and bottoms of the zucchini, quarter lengthwise, then slice crosswise, ¼-inch thick. If using pattypan squash, dice it.

Halve the peppers lengthwise. Carve out and discard the stem portion, as well as the seeds and ribbing inside. If the pepper is more than 3 inches long, cut each half in half crosswise. Slice each piece of pepper lengthwise into ¼-inch ribbons.

Place the raw vegetables and the garlic in the baking dish, sprinkle with the thyme and the spices and drizzle the remaining olive oil on top, then stir to mix.

Place the baking dish in the oven. After 15 minutes, take the baking dish out of the oven and stir its contents. Bake another 10 minutes, then take the baking dish out of the oven and stir. Bake another 3-5 minutes, or until the zucchini are tender.

When the vegetables are ready, take the baking dish out of the oven, sprinkle the sea salt and stir. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve out of the baking dish or transfer onto a serving dish and serve.

Simona Carini (she/her) also writes about her adventures in the kitchen on her blog pulcetta.com and shares photographs on Instagram @simonacarini. She particularly likes to create still lives with produce from the farmers market.