Zucchini Butter. It’s delicious with just about anything you can imagine. For that reason, I love cooking up big batches to take us through a weekend’s worth of pasta, sandwiches, crostini and more! It’s hard to tire of this. We’re especially loving it stirred into creamy polenta. The key to success for both the zucchini butter and the polenta, is to cook them low and slow. Neither are complicated but patience is key. Low even heat for a generous amount of time brings out the best of these ingredients allowing the zucchini to really “melt” while retaining its fresh flavor, and the polenta to develop its magical creaminess (you may cook this up with instant polenta, but traditional is really the way to go). If you start both together, each cooks for about the same amount of time. I also love having garlic confit on hand, to add to this dish and so much more, for its rich flavor and digestibility. I am able to achieve beautifully golden cloves while keeping the olive oil well below its smoking point on the stovetop. I trust my @AllClad Copper Core pans for their exceptional performance and precise and responsive heat control. I don’t want any hot spots browning my zucchini or burning the garlic.

Zucchini Butter Polenta

Serves 2 very large portions (doubles and triples+ easily)

Ingredients-

6 Tbs unsalted butter

Large pinch (Calabrian) chili flakes

Garlic, minced or thinly sliced to taste

1 large zucchini (about 1 lb), grated

1/2 cup traditional polenta

1 tsp kosher salt, divided

1/4 cup crème fraîche

1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Flaky sea salt fresh ground pepper

Large handful of spinach, finely chopped

Handful fresh basil, finely chopped

Garnishes-

Basil

Fresh grated Parmesan

Pine nuts

Calabrian chili or chili oil…

Method-

•Preheat a heavy bottomed sauté pan over medium heat and add butter. While foaming, add chili flakes and garlic.

•As garlic begins to turn golden, add zucchini and stir to coat raising heat slightly. Sprinkle on 1/2 tsp salt and a few turns of pepper and allow zucchini to “melt,” as soon as it begins to simmer, lower heat and stir occasionally while you cook the polenta.

•bring 2 1/4 cups of water to a boil, lower heat and slowly pour in polenta while whisking to avoid clumping. Continue stirring with a wooden spoon until polenta is creamy, over low heat. If you need to add more water, be sure to add boiling water in small increments (refer to package directions for total recommend cooking time).

•once creamy, stir in crème fraiche and Parmesan and mix until fully incorporated.

•Add spinach and basil to the melted zucchini and cook for about 2 minutes.

•stir zucchini mixture into polenta.

•serve with garnishes