Here's a Cajun-Grilled Vegetable Recipe You
Won't Believe.
Listen up fruity! It is a common mistake to think that when
someone is grilling vegetables on the bar-b-que, that they may
indeed be grilling up a zucchini. Some call it a veggie, some call
it a squash. Truth be known, the great zucchini is another
misunderstood fruit. But by the time you taste the likes of my
original "killer zuke's" grilled zucchini recipe, you'll
be thinking it's a delicious mouth watering steak. These things are
delicious and so good that even the neighbor kids will eat them.
Killer Cajun Zukes Make for Zuclear Culinary
Explosion!
The secret to this recipe is something that I stumbled on because
I grew my own zucchini in my backyard garden and was a little late
in picking them from the vine. The result is that they grow very
large and their skins begin to become thick and tough. You want to
pick them just as they get about big enough to grip around with both
hands. That is that they have about a four and a half inch or so
diameter. The secret here is to not let them sit on the vine too
long as their skins get too tough to eat. But the small zucchini
won't do for this recipe because they tend to fall apart before you
can get them to cook.
Most recipes for grilled zucchini have you slice them into nice
little round circles. When you do it this way, you seem to get more
seeds than you do meat. If I'm going to eat a "fruit" for
dinner, I want the meat of the fruit. This is where we are thinking
in a whole new box. We cut the zucchini into three or four (more
likely three unless it is huge) slices lenghwise. This is a little
difficult to do, so be sure and use a big sharp knife. You'll want
to take the skin off of the bottom and top of the zuke first. So
that each slice has just a ring of skin around the squash.
Now that you have your zukes all cut up into slices (one slice is
more than a serving) you need to make some channels to hold some of
the butter and spices while it grills. So the next secret is to
grate a fork into both sides of each slice. First go lenghwise adnt
then make a criss-cross patter by going across the other way. Now
you should have four slices of zucchini with a grid dug into each
side about 1/8th of an inch deep. These channels hold the butter.
Now take some softened butter and rub it gently into the channels.
When you've finished coating the sides with butter, you'll add the
final secret to this recipe. Anyone who has been living in Texas or
New Orleans knows about this spice. It's called
Tony
Chachere's(pronounced "Sass-er-rees")...it's
the most popular brand of Louisiana-style spice, founded by the "Ole
Master" of Cajun cooking, Tony Chachere. His superb cooking
ability, excellent sportsmanship and colorful life have made him a
Louisiana legend. Believe me when I tell you that once you get
hooked on this stuff you'll be buying it mail order like I do in NY.
You'll want to use the original Creole style.
Now get a hot grill and spray it with some Pam so that the
zucchini doesn't stick. Watch and turn when they've started to brown
and have grill marks on them. Give them a fork test to see if they
are done. You should be able to easily stick your fork through the
thickest part of the meat of the zuke. You'll want to baste the
zukes with butter from time to time and make sure you keep enough
spice on them. eeeeemmmmmmmeeeeemmmmmmmmmmegoooooooooood!
Nutrition Facts (Not counting the
butter and spice)
Serving Size 1 large (323 g)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 51.7
Calories from Fat 5.4 % (more from the butter added but don't
use a substitute it's best with real butter)
Total Carbohydrate 10.8g
Sugars 5.6g
Dietary Fiber 3.6g
Daily Value*
Total Fat 0.6g 0%
Vitamin C 91%
Thiamin 13%
Riboflavin 29%
Niacin 8%
Vitamin B6 35%
Folate 23%
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