Miso zucchini

Last year I was completely, utterly bombarded with zucchini. You know how they say that if you let the zucchini grow too large, the plant stops producing? Not only did the zucchini grow too large, the plants didn't stop producing until the frost killed them. Months of baseball bats. I brought some to work and received an email, "I hear that you have some weapons-grade zucchini on your desk. I would love to take one off your hands." Love.

So this year I did NOT plant ANY zucchini. In a way this is sad. I was always guaranteed a grocery bag of zucchini. But I am using the space for more winter squash, and the patty pan squash I grow is an adorable, round little yellow zucchini. But it's not, you know, ZUCCHINI, stuff of nightmares.

Still, no matter what you do, if you live anywhere near a farm or gardener you're going to end up with someone, um, "gifting" you zucchini. And I just didn't want more stirfried zucchini with garlic, or to put it into a curry. Last year I bought the cookbook Bento Boxes: Japanese Meals on the Go, which I love. The book presents a different way of cooking, combining, presentation than traditional big dish American cookbooks. I've cooked a lot with miso this year, partly due to that cookbook, so I decided to try a miso zucchini.

Miso zucchini

Serves 2

One knob of fresh ginger
Splash of sesame oil (for cooking)
2 tablespoons of miso (the paste, not the powder)
2 tablespoon of Mirin (or a sake/sugar mix)
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 smallish zucchini
Sesame seeds

1. Chop the ginger. If you like to chew on ginger, then do a rough chop. If you like the flavor but hate the texture, mince it. 
2. Slice the zucchini into thin rounds. (Gadget alert: If you have a mandoline, this is the sort of thing you should use it for.)
3. Heat a fry pan on medium and add sesame oil. 
4. When the oil is hot, add the ginger.
5. When the ginger has cooked for a couple minutes, add the miso, mirin, and soy sauce. This will form a sort of paste.
6. Add the zucchini and stir to cover with the paste. 
7. Cook, stirring off and on, until the zucchini is floppy, but still holds its shape.
8. Remove from heat.
9. Toss a few sesame seeds on top, give it a quick stir, and serve hot.

It's a sweet and salty side dish that takes about 15 minutes to prep.