Brined Grilled Zucchini with Mint Salsa Verde
By Sasha MarxPublished on May 31, 2017
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Look for zucchini that are about 2 inches in diameter. Zucchini brined with this salt concentration will start to taste too salty if brined longer than 1 hour. Brined zucchini can be removed from brine, patted dry, and refrigerated for up to 3 hours before cooking. This is a perfect side dish for times when you’re firing up the grill for other items on your dinner menu. Grilled zucchini are great when served warm or even at room temperature, so if you’re going to be grilling other items as well, we recommend cooking these zucchini first.
Instructions
- Whisk water and salt in large bowl until salt is dissolved. Add zucchini to brine and weigh down with plate to keep submerged. Let sit at room temperature for at least 45 minutes or up to 1 hour. Transfer zucchini to paper towel–lined plate and pat dry. Discard brine.
- For a Charcoal Grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts [4½ pounds]). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes. For a Gas Grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.
- Clean and oil cooking grate. Place zucchini, cut side down, on grill (directly over coals if using charcoal) and cook until zucchini are well charred on bottom and flesh just begins to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip zucchini and continue to cook until skin side is charred, about 2 minutes longer. (Zucchini should be slightly soft at edges but still firm at centers.) Transfer to serving plate.
- Stir together mint, parsley, oil, vinegar, capers, garlic, and pepper flakes in small bowl. Season with salt to taste. Spoon salsa verde over zucchini and serve.
Yield
Serves 4Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
Grilled zucchini often falls victim to both under-seasoning and overcooking. Try to address the former, by cutting the zucchini into thin planks that can be seasoned more thoroughly, you end up exacerbating the latter, as thinner pieces overcook in a flash. To achieve well-seasoned, crisp-tender zucchini, we ditched the planks, halved the zucchini lengthwise, and mixed up a brine. Seriously. Meat normally gets all the brining love, but a 45-minute soak in a saltwater solution produces incredibly well-seasoned zucchini. During brining, salt diffuses from an area of greater salt concentration (our 10-percent-salt brine) to an area of lesser concentration (our soon-to-be-delicious zucchini).
We then quickly grill the zucchini to pick up great char and smoky flavor, without turning it to mush. Once it comes off the grill, I pair the zucchini with a punchy riff on Italian salsa verde, packed with refreshing herbs, garlic and red pepper flakes for heat, and capers and vinegar for an acidic bite.
Photography by Steve Klise
Before You Begin
Look for zucchini that are about 2 inches in diameter. Zucchini brined with this salt concentration will start to taste too salty if brined longer than 1 hour. Brined zucchini can be removed from brine, patted dry, and refrigerated for up to 3 hours before cooking. This is a perfect side dish for times when you’re firing up the grill for other items on your dinner menu. Grilled zucchini are great when served warm or even at room temperature, so if you’re going to be grilling other items as well, we recommend cooking these zucchini first.
Instructions
- Whisk water and salt in large bowl until salt is dissolved. Add zucchini to brine and weigh down with plate to keep submerged. Let sit at room temperature for at least 45 minutes or up to 1 hour. Transfer zucchini to paper towel–lined plate and pat dry. Discard brine.
- For a Charcoal Grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts [4½ pounds]). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes. For a Gas Grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.
- Clean and oil cooking grate. Place zucchini, cut side down, on grill (directly over coals if using charcoal) and cook until zucchini are well charred on bottom and flesh just begins to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip zucchini and continue to cook until skin side is charred, about 2 minutes longer. (Zucchini should be slightly soft at edges but still firm at centers.) Transfer to serving plate.
- Stir together mint, parsley, oil, vinegar, capers, garlic, and pepper flakes in small bowl. Season with salt to taste. Spoon salsa verde over zucchini and serve.
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