{"id":7439,"date":"2019-12-19T09:00:05","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T16:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/?post_type=recipe&p=7439"},"modified":"2026-09-02T10:58:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T17:58:39","slug":"zucchini-in-umido","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/2019\/12\/19\/zucchini-in-umido\/","title":{"rendered":"Zucchini in Umido"},"content":{"rendered":"

December 19, 2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I try to cook seasonally.<\/p>\n

That means no stone fruit or corn on the cob in the winter.\u00a0 For the most part that means no tomatoes either, though I do make an exception for cherry and grape tomatoes which seem to taste about the same year-round and provide a burst of color and sweetness\u2014if not a robust tomato taste\u2014in the dead of winter.<\/p>\n

Certain things defy the season.\u00a0 Take zucchini.\u00a0 Yes, they\u2019re the quintessential summer crop (sometimes growing to the size of baseball bats in the hands of inattentive growers) but they show up all year-round, much like bananas do.<\/p>\n

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Zucchini in Umido bubbling away on Zia Fidalma’s stove in Tuscany.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I know that means they get shipped from \u201csomewhere else\u201d when they\u2019re not in season locally but, for the most part, they taste good all year (unlike, say, peaches which don\u2019t usually taste good if not grown locally and in season).<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a limit to the number of cold-season vegetables that one can eat through the winter.<\/p>\n

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Part of the problem is solved by canning, preserving, and freezing and, if not your own or a friend\u2019s, commercially available canned, preserved, and frozen produce.\u00a0 Let\u2019s face it, eating seasonally traditionally included consuming all those products that were \u201cput up\u201d when they were at the height of season.<\/p>\n

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Maria making a large batch of tomato puree (passata) at her home in Calabria.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Though some of us conserve produce, few of us do enough to meet our needs throughout the lean winter months.\u00a0 I have no objection to using good quality commercially \u201cconserved\u201d foods.\u00a0 What I don\u2019t use are convenience or premade foods.<\/p>\n

Though I enjoy and prefer to make my own tomato puree (passata)<\/a>, we don\u2019t produce enough of our own tomatoes to make a year\u2019s supply (and I haven\u2019t been overly impressed with what\u2019s available in the market in sufficient and affordable quantity to make up the difference).<\/p>\n

I do what I can, however, for example making passata when our tomatoes are at their best; candying citrus peels from the trees in our neighborhood in Palm Springs in the winter; making cherry leaf aperitif<\/a> in the fall; and, in those rare years when Santa Fe has an abundance of peaches and apricots, making jam.<\/p>\n

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The early stages of making cherry leaf aperitif.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I \u201cconserve\u201d other produce as well like making hot chile oil (\u201colio santo\u201d) when we have enough peperoncini, making limoncello<\/a> and arancello from oranges and lemons in Palm Springs, and putting fresh (like cherries<\/a>) and dried (like prunes<\/a>) fruits in various types of spirits.<\/p>\n

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My prohibition on using \u201cprepared foods,\u201d though is pretty definite.\u00a0 I\u2019ll use good quality canned, peeled tomatoes from Italy but (unless my back is up against the wall as sometimes happens when I have limited shopping venues like when we\u2019re on Fire Island) I don\u2019t use canned commercial diced or crushed tomatoes or tomato puree.\u00a0 My view, and, granted, it might be wrong, is that the best quality tomatoes go into the cans of \u201cwhole, peeled\u201d tomatoes, not into the ones that are ground, diced, or pureed.<\/p>\n

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Making limoncello.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a matter of minutes, a can of whole peeled tomatoes can be turned into any of the other products.\u00a0 It also means that, other than tomato paste, I only need to stock up on one tomato product.\u00a0 OK, OK, so I have two types of peeled, whole tomatoes.\u00a0 Both are from Italy but one is San Marzano and the other is a plum tomato that\u2019s not San Marzano.\u00a0 I use the less expensive non-San-Marzano-but-still-Italian tomatoes when the dish I am making would be indistinguishable with either type.<\/p>\n

In December, zucchini are a welcome addition to mealtime, a situation that is difficult to imagine during the fall harvest season when zucchini seem to be coming from all directions.

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Zucchini in Umido<\/h2>\n
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Pommarola, a simple tomato sauce made with tomatoes, basil and garlic is ideal in this dish. See the notes section for a link to my Basic Tomato Sauce. If pommarola, or a similar simple tomato sauce is not available, substitute good-quality tomato puree. If using puree, I suggest adding a few basil leaves, finely chopped. Niepita is difficult to obtain outside of Italy but if you want to try to find seeds, look for it using the southern Italian name of \"Mentuccia Romana\" rather than the Tuscan name of niepita. Though the flavor is different, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano is a good alternative.<\/div>\n
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Prep Time <\/span>15 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Cook Time <\/span>30 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Total Time <\/span>45 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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Servings: <\/span>6<\/span> persons<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ingredients
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