Zucchini goes well with many products. Its versatility allows you to cook a large number of dishes that will differ not only in their taste and lightness, but also, most importantly, in health benefits.
Dishes from zucchini are cooked quickly, which will save time for a working housewife or mother, who will devote more time to family and children, but at the same time feed everyone tasty and varied. So, an appetizer of zucchini with tomatoes and garlic has many varieties and the family will definitely like it. A big plus of zucchini as an ingredient for preparing various dishes is its availability and low price at any time of the year, and not just during the ripening season.
Product selection and preparation
The taste, appearance and usefulness of the finished dish depend on the quality of the selected ingredients. Young zucchini, the size of which does not exceed a large cucumber, is more tender, with thin skin. Inside the seeds have not yet ripened, so their pulp is uniform and elastic. In older ones, it has a more watery, thick peel and large seeds. Such specimens are suitable for the preparation of caviar, provided that they are peeled and peeled. In addition, they should be cut into large pieces, since during heat treatment they become sour and flow.
Zucchini is best combined with tomatoes and sour cream. Consider several options for dishes with them.
Stewed zucchini in sour cream sauce with tomatoes
This appetizer of zucchini with tomatoes and garlic is fragrant, healthy and very very tender. Zucchini in it turns out juicy and low-fat, so they are perfect for people who monitor their health.
For cooking, you will need one small zucchini, a couple of medium-sized tomatoes, half a glass of sour cream, two cloves of garlic, half a tablespoon of flour, as well as seasonings and herbs to taste.
Cooking:
- Peel the zucchini, cut into circles. Salt and season in flour.
- Heat frying oil (sunflower, coconut, etc.) in a pan and fry all zucchini until golden brown.
- Put them in a thin layer in a deep frying pan or stewpan, on them - a layer of tomatoes, cut into circles.
- Season the layers with pepper, chopped garlic and salt. Pour all the half cooked sour cream (if it is very thick, pick with a spoon and level).
- Then again lay out a layer of zucchini and a layer of tomatoes, season them and pour the second half of sour cream.
- Sprinkle with finely chopped herbs.
- Put on low heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes under the lid, after which place the dish in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes. at a temperature of 250 Β° C.
Zucchini with mayonnaise
We offer one more simple and quick to prepare appetizer from zucchini with tomatoes and garlic. It is equally suitable for a snack during the day and for the festive table, decorating it with its presence as an easy start to a pleasant evening.
To prepare this type of recipe for zucchini snacks with tomatoes and garlic, it is better to use young medium-sized zucchini that do not have large seeds. Be sure to peel them so that they are not bitter.
For cooking, you need 3 medium-sized fruits, a bunch of parsley, a head of garlic, olive oil for cooking the sauce, as well as a couple of tablespoons of table vinegar, two tomatoes, mayonnaise sauce for decoration and 100 g of flour.
Cooking:
- Peel the zucchini and cut into thick circles, up to 2 cm wide. If the circles are not thick enough, they will not hold their shape and will be loose and greasy after frying.
- Then they need to be salted and left for 20 minutes to stand out juice. It must be drained.
- Heat frying oil (sunflower or corn). Breaded zucchini slices in flour. You can lightly sprinkle flour on both sides with a spoon or dip them in flour (in this case, the breading will be more dense). Fry zucchini in hot oil on both sides. The willingness of the zucchini can be checked with a fork - it will be easily pierced.
- Gently and fairly tightly put the fried circles on a serving plate in 1 layer.
- Garlic cloves should be peeled and crushed using a garlic press. Mix them with vegetable oil and table vinegar. Salt a little and mix everything thoroughly until a homogeneous mass is obtained.
- Lubricate each slice of zucchini with the resulting garlic-vinegar sauce. The larger the sauce layer, the more piquant the appetizer will be.
- Cut the tomatoes into slices or thin slices and place on zucchini so that on each zucchini circle there is a slice or a circle of tomato.
- Garnish with mayonnaise top coat. To do this, you can use a confectionery syringe. But if there is none, put the mayonnaise in a plastic bag and roll it into a bag, cutting off the corner (the smaller the hole in the bag, the more beautiful the picture will be). After that, squeeze the mayonnaise onto the tomatoes with a thin ribbon.
- Chop greens not too finely and decorate the dish with it before serving.
Zucchini with garlic, and mayonnaise, and tomatoes can be served both hot and cold. If you leave the dish for an hour and a half in the refrigerator, the vegetables are saturated with garlic sauce and the taste will be more intense.
Savory zucchini rolls with tomatoes
Zucchini rolls with tomatoes and garlic look very appetizing and festive, well suited for banquet tables. There are them quite convenient, because they are small in size.
It is better to use young zucchini, the size of which is not larger than a large cucumber (for cooking you will need a couple of them). And four more tomatoes, four tablespoons of mayonnaise sauce, 70 g of wheat flour for making breading, salt and spices to taste.
Cooking:
- Zucchini cut into slices along the fruit. Sprinkle them with salt and let stand for a while until the juice appears. Last drain.
- Heat a little sunflower oil in a deep pan. Squash zucchini in any way from the previous recipe and fry in oil on both sides until a golden crust appears. After frying, you can get rid of excess oil by putting zucchini on a paper towel. To speed up the process, they can not be fried in a pan, but baked in the oven, pre-lubricated with oil on both sides.
- While the zucchini is cooling, peel the garlic and chop it using a press.
- Mix mayonnaise with garlic.
- Cut tomatoes into medium sized slices.
- Spread the cooled zucchini with garlic sauce on one side. Put a slice of tomato on the edge of the zucchini strip and roll the zucchini rolls with tomatoes and garlic so that the tomato is wrapped in zucchini.
- Fix the roll with a toothpick (or a beautiful skewer).
Zucchini cake
A very tasty and original version of the snack, suitable for connoisseurs of new and unusual dishes. This is a real cake of zucchini with tomatoes and garlic, consisting of shortcakes and able to decorate the holiday table. But unlike traditional sweet desserts, the preparation of this snack cake does not take too much time and energy.
You can make zucchini cake using the following ingredients: two zucchini, several tomatoes, five eggs and one glass of flour. You also need a glass of mayonnaise sauce and a few cloves of garlic.
Cooking:
- Peel the zucchini and grate it, then squeeze slightly to remove the liquid. This can be done simply by hand or by tipping the squash into a colander.
- Add eggs, salt, pepper and mix well.
- Gradually mix the flour into the resulting mass. According to the consistency, the dough can be made into pancakes, otherwise the cakes can fall apart at the time of turning over when baking.
- Put the squash in a hot frying pan greased with vegetable oil. Flatten with a spoon so that a thick pancake is obtained, and bake until golden brown.
- Then it is turned over with a spatula and fried on the other side. From the indicated amount of ingredients, 4-5 pancakes should be obtained (the amount will depend on the size of the pan).
- Ready squash cakes must be cooled.
- Combine mayonnaise and garlic crushed using a press. Thinly chop the tomatoes in circles.
- For the assembly of snacks, it is necessary to spread the first cake with mayonnaise, and then place the circles of tomatoes on it. Then place the squash cake and repeat all layers. Garnish the top cake with mayonnaise, tomato slices and finely chopped greens.
Appetizer from zucchini with tomatoes and garlic can immediately be served to guests on the table and divided into portions. But if you put the cake in the refrigerator for 1-1.5 hours, the cakes are saturated with sauce, the dish will become even tastier.
Experienced cooking tips
Zucchini appetizers with tomatoes and garlic have many recipes. Experienced chefs advise to adhere to several rules that will make the cooked dish even tastier and more beautiful.
If the tomato is elastic and has a thick skin, it is more advisable to remove it. Itβs easy: with a sharp knife, make a light cut of the skin, scald with boiling water and gently pull on the cut skin. She will act easily and quickly.
When sliced, zucchini produce a lot of juice, especially ripened fruits. It is necessary to give them a couple of minutes to drain, squeeze, and then proceed to cooking. This will reduce the water content of the dish and increase its taste.
Zucchini with garlic, and mayonnaise, and tomatoes is an excellent solution for both a home dinner and a feast. Despite its simplicity, these dishes are always popular. Cook with pleasure! And Bon Appetit!