Grill Pan Recipe: Marinated Grilled Zucchini with Oregano and Dried-Tomato Vinaigrette

Things Cooks Love: Implements. Ingredients. Recipes.
By Sur La Table and Marie Simmons

Prep 10 min | cok time 8 min per batch | serves 4

Zucchini is mild flavored, so it is the perfect canvas for the bold tastes of fresh oregano and dried tomatoes. Use your best extra-virgin olive oil and aged red wine vinegar for the dressing.

Implements
Small Bowl, Flat or Sauce Whisk, Mandoline or Chef’s Knife,
Grill Pan, Silicone Brush, Tongs

Ingredients
Vinaigrette
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, grated or pressed
½ teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 medium (about 5 ounces each) zucchini
Coarse salt
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
2 tablespoons finely slivered olive oil–packed sundried tomatoes, drained and patted dry, for garnish

1. Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and grinding of black pepper, and whisk until blended.
2. Trim the stem and blossom ends from the zucchini. With a mandoline or chef’s knife, cut each zucchini lengthwise into 5 slices each about ¼ inch thick, and then spread the slices in a single layer on a platter.
3. Heat the grill pan over medium heat until hot enough for a drop of water to sizzle on contact.
4. While the pan is heating, brush the zucchini slices on both sides with a film of the vinaigrette. Working in batches, place the zucchini on the pan and grill for 4 minutes, or until grill marks appear. Turn with tongs and grill the other side for 4 minutes, or until tender. As each batch is cooked, return the slices to the platter.
5. Sprinkle the zucchini slices lightly with salt. Whisk the oregano into the remaining vinaigrette and drizzle on top of the zucchini. Sprinkle with the tomato slivers. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cookware: Grill Pan

From Things Cooks Love: Implements. Ingredients. Recipes.

The grill pan, also called a skillet grill, comes in all sizes and shapes (round, square, and rectangular) and is made from a variety of materials, such as steel and aluminum blends, or cast iron. Designed for use on the stove top, it has raised grids that leave seared grill marks on the surface of the food, making it possible to pretend you’re grilling even when it is snowing outdoors. The wells between the grids catch fat and juices, leaving the surface of the food dry—a boon for anyone interesting in low-fat cooking.

Tips for Using
Before adding the food to the grill pan, preheat it over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until a drop of water sizzles and evaporates on contact.

Oil the grill pan or the food, just as you would when using an outdoor grill.

The grill pan is perfect for quickly heating up hot dogs or fully cooked sausages, and great for grilled sandwiches, thin cutlets, chicken breasts, and vegetables.

Food cooks more slowly on a grill pan than it does on a flat surface, because contact with the food is limited to the grids.

Hamburgers are only successful on a grill pan if the patties are less than ½ inch thick. This is true of most meats cooked on the grill pan.

Vegetables cook best when they are thinly cut, so all surfaces will come in contact with the hot grid.

Care in Using
Never scour a grill pan with abrasive cleaners. Instead, soak the pan in warm, soapy water, loosen cooked-on particles with a stiff brush, rinse, and dry.

Before storing a washed grill pan, rub all of its surfaces with flavorless cooking oil until they are dry, with no trace of oil remaining.

Always consult the manufacturer’s instructions.

Alternatives
A panini grill can be substituted for a grill pan.

Recipes
Tamari-Glazed Swordfish with Mango, Ginger, and Sweet Onion Salad | Marinated Grilled Zucchini with Oregano and Dried-Tomato Vinaigrette

Coming Next: Grill Pan Recipe - Marinated Grilled Zucchini with Oregano and Dried-Tomato Vinaigrette