Here’s a quick, light summer meal for when you’d rather be outside than cooking. Any seasonal vegetable can be substituted for the zucchini, including broccolini, green beans, or bitter greens.
Serves 2 as a light dinner
Ingredients
1 medium zucchini, sliced 1/8-inch thin lengthwise
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup polenta (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
Unsalted butter
2 scallions (white and light green parts), sliced thin
1/2 small tomato, seeded and diced
6 - 8 pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
Pinch red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons vinegar (red wine, sherry, apple cider all work well)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
In a small bowl, combine scallions, tomato, olives, parsley, vinegar, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Boil 1 1/2 cups water, add 1 teaspoon kosher salt to water and cook polenta on low heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Tip: to prevent clumps, shake polenta gradually into the pot of water and use a whisk to incorporate. After polenta has finished cooking, stir in 1 - 2 tablespoons of butter, season with salt and pepper and cover.
Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan to medium heat. Pat zucchini slices dry with a paper towel, and lightly score each side with a paring knife, being careful not to cut through. Brush zucchini with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook on each side until grill marks appear and zucchini is tender but firm enough that you can still flip it easily.
Plate polenta (if it has formed a skin, slowly reheat and add a few tablespoons of warm water to loosen). Top with grilled zucchini and gremolata. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and enjoy!