In case I don’t mention it often enough, we live in a very remote location. The asphalt stops at our village. You will have to take either a plane or a boat to continue norther bound. The nearest decent size shopping center is over a 1000 kilometers away (sniff). Our (un)fortunate remoteness from civilization brings us closer to nature but further from goodies like fresh herbs or speciality grocers. Diapers, in case you were wondering, cost more then jewelry up here. All this to say that financially speaking, I might as well shower myself in diamonds and gold than insist on eating fresh. Good thing I don’t know anything about finances.

Zucchinis for some reason, are very easy to find in our general store. They come in packs of two or three, hibernating in the cold refrigerator on their neat little Styrofoam trays. Since it is so widely available, I always look for something interesting to do with my zucchini. This recipe is a real winner. Easy to assemble, beautiful to serve and very yummy. An excellent side dish. Since I can only dream of having fresh mint so readily available, I buy mine in bulk “down South” and freeze it. Since frozen herbs look rather wilted once unfrozen, I minced mine in the sauce in my trusty food processor. Feel free to chop yours by hand if you like.

Zucchini in garlic, mint and lemon

Ingredients:

4 cups zucchini, scrubbed clean and diced into cubes (about 3 very large zucchinis)
3 spoons extra virgin olive oil
handful fresh mint
1 Tbsp crushed garlic
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt

Preparation:

Mix zucchini cubes with the oil and spread on a baking sheet. Broil for about 15 minutes, or until the zucchinis are soft and brown around the edges. Meanwhile, with the aid of a blender or food processor, blend together mint, garlic, lemon juice, oil and salt (if you do this by hand, slice or chop the mint first). Pour over hot zucchinis and let rest in the fridge for a few hours, preferably over night. Serve at room temperature.