This Melting Zucchini Is the Best Zucchini I’ve Ever Made

The cooking technique known as “melting”—as in melting cabbage, melting onions, and more—is an impressive way to cook both summer and winter vegetables. Originating from the classic French potato dish “pommes de terre fondantes” (aka fondant or “melting” potatoes), the two-step technique can be applied to loads of different veggies.

To “melt” a vegetable, first, you sear it on high heat (either on the stove or in the oven) until it is deeply caramelized. Then, you add some liquid to the pan and the vegetable finishes cooking in a shallow simmer. While the searing step develops the flavor of the vegetable, the subsequent braising softens it, giving it a silky, “melting” texture.

Zucchini is the latest vegetable on the roster of ingredients I’ve applied this technique to, and I am not exaggerating when I say this is the best zucchini I’ve ever made.

The Magic of Cast Iron

One of my core culinary beliefs is that if you think you don’t like a vegetable, try cooking it in a cast iron skillet before swearing it off completely. Cooking vegetables in cast iron gives them deep caramelization (i.e., flavor!) while imparting them with a slightly smoky taste. You get similar results to grilling, but with exponentially less fuss.

Zucchini in its unaltered state can be a bit bland, seeing as it is 94% water. Cooking it in cast iron over high heat brings out all its sweet and earthy goodness. If you don’t have a cast iron pan, you can use a basic stainless steel pan instead, you just won’t have that same smoky flavor.

Infusing Melting Zucchini With Flavor

Dry white wine—added in the second step of this technique—is a key flavor in this melting zucchini. Acidic and funky, it complements the vegetable’s innate sweetness perfectly. My go-to is any sauvignon blanc from New Zealand (it’s extra fruity and mineral-forward), but you can use any dry white wine you’d enjoy drinking from a glass.

I like finishing this dish with bright and briny capers. While I believe zucchini and capers are a match made in ingredient heaven, the point here is to finish the dish with something salty and acidic to punctuate the sweet-savory zucchini. If you don’t love capers, use 1/4 cup finely chopped pitted kalamata olives instead.

Serving Suggestions

Melting zucchini works great as a side dish for any summer pasta, be it lemony sardine pasta, easy pasta pomodoro, or even orzotto. You can also serve it as a main atop creamy mashed potatoes or polenta.

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