Ripe and juicy, our annual Farmers Market Challenge is ready to be picked. We've got plump tomatoes, sweet cherries, glossy eggplants, and much more. Head here to find all the articles and recipes.
When you start prepping a plush zucchini bread or creamy zucchini pasta, odds are you give the squash a rinse, then lob off the cap and toss it. But why? Because the recipe says so? Because that’s how you’ve always done it? Not only are those zucchini tops edible, they’re delicious, and just as versatile as the rest of the vegetable.
In an era of low-waste cooking, chefs and home cooks are using more and more produce scraps destined for the trash or compost bin. Swiss chard and kale stems transform into silky pestos. Potato peelings can be fried into a salty snack. Grated broccoli stems are reborn as cheesy tots. And wilty herbs can be cooked and called jam.
Likewise, you can repurpose the crowns of just about any medium to large summer squash, like plump cousa, striped costata romanesco, bi-colored zephyrs, and golden-hued crooknecks. I’ve found that the fresher the squash, the more tender the stem. If you have access to vegetables from a garden or are able to swing by a local farmers market, that’s ideal. That said, supermarket zucchini work great too.
Here are five ways to get the most out of summer squash tops:
Boil, then drown in olive oil.
In season four of PBS’s Mind of a Chef, American chef and author Gabrielle Hamilton remembers an aha moment during restaurant service: “That looks perfectly good,” she thought, watching zucchini tops go to waste. “I would eat this.” This became an aha moment for me too, a reminder that just because something is typically tossed doesn’t mean it should be. Instead:
Bring a small saucepan of abundantly salted water to a boil. The tip of the stem might be dried out; trim and discard that brown sliver, then slice the top off a whole zucchini including about 1/2" of flesh. Repeat with however many zucchini you have. Add the tops to the water. Gently boil until they’re easily pierced with a knife and the cut side has lost its opaqueness, 8–15 minutes depending on the size. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked tops and transfer them to a shallow bowl. Finish with a generous pour of extra-virgin olive oil.
Or boil, then dress up with whatever’s around.
The beauty of Hamilton’s version is its simplicity, but also in the squash’s ability to soak up the olive oil. To put your own spin on this, check your fridge and pantry. What do you have around? The sweetness of summer squash craves three things: fat, acid, and texture. Extra-virgin olive oil is always within my reach, but another go-to is a spoonful of chili crisp. The acid component can come in many forms, from yogurt and kefir (which bring fat too) to vinegar and citrus juice. Finally, garnish with something crispity-crunchity to contrast the tender zucchini. Some favorite combinations:
- Peppery extra-virgin olive oil + fresh lemon juice + za’atar
- Your favorite chili crisp + Chinese black vinegar + roasted sesame seeds
- Plain kefir + pomegranate molasses + chaat masala
Turn into a scrappy pickle.
The sweetness of summer squash makes for an excellent pickle. To extend the tops (which you might not have a lot of), I like to add another vegetable: Think sliced hot peppers, shallots, or even a fellow scrap like broccoli stems or cauliflower cores.
For spicy turmeric-pickled zucchini tops, cut the tops in half, then boil in salted water until they just start to soften, 4–5 minutes. While the zucchini is boiling, in another saucepan, combine ½ cup white vinegar, 2½ Tbsp. water, 1½ Tbsp. granulated sugar, 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1½ tsp. Morton’s kosher salt, ¼ tsp. ground turmeric, and a few black peppercorns. Cook until the sugar and salt dissolve. Place the par-cooked zucchini tops in a small jar with 2 sliced jalapeños, and pour in the hot brine. Allow to cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate overnight. These are bonkers delicious on any cheese or charcuterie platter, or eaten straight out of the jar.
Make quick kimchi.
A condiment that is in regular rotation in my kitchen is Eric Kim’s Quick Kimchi, or muchim, from NYT Cooking, which pairs whatever vegetable you have on hand with a vibrant dressing of white vinegar, fish sauce, sesame oil, garlic, gochugaru, and sugar.
To do this with zucchini tops, use the same halving and par-boiling technique as the pickles, then combine the zucchini tops with thinly sliced scallions or garlic chives to bulk them up. Dress the squash and alliums with Kim’s kimchi dressing, then allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Enjoy with grilled meat or fish, or a bowl of warm rice and a fried egg.
Adapt the recipe.
At the end of the day, no matter what zucchini dish you’re making, you don’t have to cut off the top at all. If you’re grating zucchini for fritters, herby sheet-pan meatballs, or quick bread, trim off just a little bit of the brown stem, then grate the whole zucchini. Or, for grilling and slow-cooking or confiting, slice small-to-medium summer squash in half lengthwise, including the stem. For quicker cooking methods, like searing, the stem retains a little bite, but this isn’t a bad thing. More textures equal more fun.
