Sauteed Shredded Zucchini

I thought that Bridget's recipe for Sauteed Shredded Zucchini was going to be a disaster from the start when I realized that a certain husband who shall remain nameless misplaced a part for my KAMixer shredder attachment and I couldn't use it.

Luckily, zucchini is not a dense food, so taking care of five of these bad boys on my box grater was not a problem.

I was surprised that, even though the recipe warned me, I got such a small quantity of ready-to-eat zucchini. I wonder if my zucchini were just too small... or maybe I should up it next time...

Anyway, ridiculously fast and easy and SO GOOD. My husband didn't even know it was zucchini, and my son ate a ton of this. I served it as a bed for Teriyaki Pork Chops.

Ingredients:

• 5 medium zucchini (about 8 ounces each), ends trimmed
• Table salt
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1-2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
• Ground black pepper
  

1. Shred zucchini with shredding disk of food processor or large holes of a box grater. Toss zucchini with 1½ teaspoons salt and place in colander set in medium bowl; let drain 5 to 10 minutes. Wrap zucchini in kitchen towel, in batches if necessary, and wring out excess moisture.

2. Place zucchini in medium bowl and break up any large clumps. Add shallots and 2 teaspoons oil to zucchini and toss to combine thoroughly.

3. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat. Add zucchini mixture and spread evenly in pan with tongs; cook without stirring until bottom layer browns, about 2 minutes; stir well, breaking up any clumps with tongs, then cook until “new” bottom layer browns, about 2 minutes more. Off heat, stir in lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

For the tomato-basil variation: Combine 3 cored, seeded and diced plum tomatoes, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves in small bowl and set aside. When the zucchini has finished cooking, remove it from the heat and stir in tomato mixture and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving platter, sprinkle with ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan, and serve immediately, drizzling with additional olive oil, if desired.