Pick of the Week - Zucchini
Zucchini is an extremely versatile vegetable and can be eaten cooked or raw. In our house we sometimes slice them thinly into ribbons with a mandolin and put them in lemon juice and olive oil salt and garlic, which cooks them nicely.
They grow very quickly especially in warm weather with rain, so picking them can be a daily task. Miss a day and they end up in our Imperfect stack, miss a week and they can be a metre long! Ideally they should be 10 to 14 centimetres long. This size will be tender and flavoursome. Much smaller is not desirable either.
At this time of the year the come from Bundaberg in central Queensland however in a few weeks they will be growing locally as spring temperatures start in Sydney. Often our Imperfect zucchini are incredible value but right now they are all cheap and good.
HOW TO PICK
Look for zucchini that's around 10 to 14 centimetres in length and still relatively thin. The zucchini should feel heavy for its size. The skin should be dark green and smooth and free of blemishes. If the skin looks slightly shriveled, it likely wasn't picked fresh.
HOW TO STORE
Store zucchini in the fridge, whole, dry and unwashed. Store them in a paper bag with one end open to encourage air circulation, and pop them in the refrigerator crisper drawer. They'll keep there for 1 to 2 weeks, though you'll probably see the skin start to shrivel over time.
