Pan Fried Zucchini with Basil and Pecorino

This recipe for pan fried zucchini comes together rather quickly and with a little help of fresh herbs and Pecorino Romano cheese tastes absolutely superb. 

If you have a surplus of zucchini from your garden, take a look at our zucchini fritters. So delicious and not at all boring. 

While the summer is pretty much over, the crop of zucchini just won’t quit! Not that I am mad about it as it’s one of my favourite vegetables.

And I think it’s mostly because like mushrooms, zucchini can be flavoured in various ways since they don’t have a very distinct flavour in themselves. 

Zucchini Recipes

While the surplus of zucchini is often used in baking I prefer savoury recipes. I often saute it with a little seasoning but I also like to use it raw in salads and slaws. 

Grilling zucchini is another excellent method of cooking in the summer. Young and crisp vegetables with less seeds are ideal for a BBQ. 

It’s also interesting to see how zucchini is used in various pastas in Italy, which gave me inspiration for this pasta dish with zucchini and sun-dried tomatoes. Beautiful flavours of the Mediterranean in this meat-free pasta. 

Cooking Tips

One of my biggest tips for cooking this vegetable is NOT overcooking it. It’s a texture thing. Overcooked zucchini turns into a mush and that is what many people dislike. 

In order to keep the flesh firm, try these 3 things:

1. go for for a younger zucchini
2. cut it in thicker slices or cubes
3. turn the heat up, so it browns the outside instead of steams

While the tips above help with the texture, they aren’t particularly helpful when it comes to flavour. Here is when things turn interesting. Zucchini absorbs flavour really well just like mushrooms, so you can experiment to your heart’s content. 

I find adding various herbs and a bit of acid like lemon juice, dry wine or a bit of vinegar does wonders when cooking zucchini. 

Tuscan Flavours

I’ve taken inspiration from my recent trip to Florence when developing this recipe. Italians are very seasonal in their use of ingredients. So zucchini was featured heavily on the menu of every restaurant at the beginning of September. 

Sometimes it was pan fried zucchini mixed with pasta. And sometimes it was grated and mixed into the pasta raw, allowing the residual heat to cook the vegetable. Either way it was delicious and renewed my love for zucchini. 

The main flavours I used in this recipe are fresh thyme, garlic, dry white wine, Pecorino Romano cheese and fresh basil. The whole thing takes about 15 minutes and will complement any dish. 

The process is very simple. All you have to do is to brown zucchini rounds with a bit of thyme and garlic. Deglaze the pan with white wine and let it bubble away. The wine adds a wonderful acidic touch to a vegetable that is rather plain on its own. 

At the end, sprinkle with the grated Pecorino Romano cheese and stir. The cheese will melt immediately and coat the zucchini with its savoury goodness. You can also use Parmesan if Pecorino is not available. 

Serving suggestions

This particular recipe is very versatile and could be eaten in a variety of ways. The first one that comes to mind is as a side dish.

If you want to continue with the Italian theme, serve it on the side of chicken parmesan or a grilled steak.  Or with Tuscan butter beans for a meat free meal! Feel free to browse our Italian Recipe Collection for my ideas. 

You can also mix this zucchini into a heaping pile of pasta with more Pecorino or Parmesan. Or serve it on top of a slice of toasted bread and enjoy like a crostini. 

Favourite Zucchini Recipes to Try

• Warm Zucchini Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Mediterranean Faro Salad with Zucchini
• French Omelette with Bacon, Potatoes and Zucchini
• Mediterranean Pasta with Zucchini