Dishing It Up!

by Victoria Mattson

Victoria Mattson is a local cook, confectionaire and writer. She offers healthy and nutritious recipes and food tips in each issue of North County Outlook. Phone (360) 658-9903 or e-mail victoria@northcountyoutlook.com.

August is a time of abundance for successful vegetable gardeners like Marysville resident Jerry McCoy, who has a 20' by 24' garden growing in his yard.

Jerry is a rural carrier for the USPS with an obsession for gardening. This summer he has planted multiple varieties of squash, beans, peppers, onions and tomatoes. His crop of lettuce and spinach was harvested earlier this season. This time of the year, many of Jerry's friends get fresh zucchini, peppers, beans and onions.

In February Jerry planted vegetable seeds in his unheated greenhouse. By late April, he had a thousand vegetable starter plants, including 15 varieties of tomatoes, several varieties of peppers, cucumbers, squash and pumpkins. He planted some in his own garden and sold the rest.

While growing vegetables demands a lot of time and attention, Jerry feels a great sense of accomplishment nurturing the various plants and watching them grow. The growing process is very gratifying because the vegetables respond so beautifully to his attention and provide very flavorful and nutritious food for his table.

With all the fresh vegetables available from the garden, Jerry searches through cookbooks for new and exciting ways to cook the season's bounty. One of his favorite books is "The Pra Vigne Cookbook Seasons in the California Wine Country" by Michael Chiarello. This delightful book elegantly presents recipes which include fresh vegetables from each of the four seasons. Jerry adapted the following recipe for Prosciutto-wrapped Zucchini from that book.



Prosciutto-wrapped Zucchini



Two large zucchini, 9-10 inches long, 2-3 inches in diameter

16 slices prosciutto, pancetta, Jamon Serrano or any other very thin cured ham

Cracked pepper

2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Finely chopped flatleaf parsley



Cut both zucchinis in half, then quarter lengthwise, so you get 8 wedges from each zucchini. Sprinkle each wedge with cracked pepper. Tightly wrap one thin ham slice around a wedge of zucchini.

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil and heat. Place zucchini wedges in the pan and sauté 1-2 minutes on each of the 3 sides until the meat is browned. One of the secrets to this dish is to NOT overcook the zucchini wedges. A total of 5 to 6 minutes is sufficient to cook the zucchini to a crispy state.

Remove from heat and drizzle the wedges with balsamic vinegar. Serve hot or cold.



On a personal note: As has been reported previously, Jim and I are closing Let's Dish! and are currently planning our next adventure. I want to personally thank the North County community for your support during the 4 1/2 years that Let's Dish! has been doing business in Marysville. It has been fun dishing with you. I will continue to write this column and consequently, you can contact me at Victoria@northcountyoutlook.com.