Cutting zucchini with a cross hatch pattern and cooking it a little softer than you are used to makes them so buttery and juicy, you have to try! Then after they cooked golden soft either on the grill, in the oven or using a grill pan, you spoon a garlic herb butter that seeps into the cross hatch for amazing flavor!! This is the zucchini side dish you need and deserve!
I learned this cross hatch pattern from Chef Thomas Keller… also the idea of cooking zucchini a lot softer than I had previously done. It creates such a buttery texture. I made soft zucchini for some friends on vacation in Florida and they still talk about it to this day.
This is especially a great recipe if you have a garden producing more zucchini than you can go through!
Also, if you have dill and parsley leftover after making this zucchini side dish, pop over and make this Lemon Rice for dinner another night. It has similar flavors and makes a great side dish.
Ingredients
Zucchini Squash – green zucchini squash is what you want to use. They can also be called a courgette. This is a great recipe to use if you have a garden supplying you with lots of zucchini.
Olive Oil – This is just used as a cooking oil for the zucchini so you can sub canola or vegetable oil here.
Kosher Salt – season the cut zucchini with kosher salt before cooking. You may also want to add more kosher salt before serving.
Salted Butter – Use softened butter for the sauce.
Garlic, Dill and Parsley – Raw garlic with dill and parsley add a ton of flavor to the sauce for the zucchini.
Three Ways to Cook Zucchini
You can cook the zucchini one of three ways – grill, oven, or pan. You will actually cook the zucchini until it is slightly soft. This makes the zucchini so buttery and delicious to eat.
Cutting a cross hatch pattern in the cut side of the zucchini has two benefits:
- It helps the zucchini cook all the way through to the middle and gives you a soft buttery texture.
- When you spoon the garlic herb butter over the zucchini it melts into the cross hatch and flavors it all the way through.
GRILL – Preheat the grill and then grill the zucchini, cut side down about 4 minutes, then flip and grill for another 4-5 minutes.
OVEN – Preheat the oven to 400°F and place the zucchini cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes until softened and golden on the bottom.
GRILL PAN – Preheat the grill pan and then sauté the zucchini, cut side down about 4 minutes, then flip and grill for another 5 minutes.
How To Make Zucchini & Garlic Herb Butter
- Cut the zucchini lengthwise. Then with a pairing knife cut ¼ inch deep cross hatch in the cut side of the zucchini.
- Coat the zucchini with olive oil and kosher salt.
- Cook the zucchini either in the oven, on the grill, or in a grill pan.
- Make the Garlic Herb Butter by melting 1 tablespoon butter in a pan and then saute the minced garlic. Remove from the heat and add 1 tablespoon water.
- In a bowl mash 3 tablespoon butter with chopped dill and parsley. Then whisk in the garlic/butter/water mixture.
- Spoon the garlic herb butter mixture over the cut side of the zucchini.
- Taste for seasoning -salt and pepper. Then serve!
Serving
The zucchini can be served as a half zucchini per person. Or you can cut the cooked zucchini into 1 inch pieces and then toss in the herbed butter.
This Zucchini is amazing served with just about anything! Especially goes great with BBQ Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Grilled Chicken. But it is also amazing with Steak Bites or Braised Tri Tip.
More Veggie Side Dishes
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Zucchini with Garlic Herb Butter
Ingredients
- 3 fresh zucchini - halved lengthwise, and then cross hatched
- olive oil
- kosher salt
Garlic Herb Butter
- 2 Garlic cloves - minced
- 4 tablespoon Butter - softened, divided
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoon dill - minced
- 2 tablespoon parsley - minced
Instructions
Zucchini
- Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, creating 6 long pieces of zucchini.3 fresh zucchini
- On the cut side of the zucchini, with a pairing knife, cut ¼ inch deep slits angled one way, then the other way. This creates a cross hatch on the zucchini that helps them cook, and holds the yummy garlic herb butter!!olive oil, kosher salt
- Coat the zucchini on all sides with olive oil and then sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Cook using your preferred method:a. GRILL – grill the zucchini cut side down for 4 minutes, flip and cook another 4-5 minutes. b. OVEN – preheat the oven to 400℉ and place the zucchini on a rimmed baking sheet, cut side down. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. c. GRILL PAN – preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook cut side down for about 4 minutes, flip and then cook for another 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and make the Garlic Herb Butter.
Garlic Herb Butter
- Mix 3 tablespoon butter with chopped dill and parsley.2 tablespoon dill, 2 tablespoon parsley
- In a skillet melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and add garlic, sauté for about 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 tablespoon water.2 Garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon water
- Pour the garlic mixture into the butter/herb mixture and stir really well to emulsify the butter. It should be creamy-ish.
Assembly
- Spoon the Garlic Herb Butter over the cut side of the zucchini.
- Taste for additional seasoning- kosher salt and black pepper.
- Can be served as one zucchini half per person, or can be cut into 1 inch pieces and tossed with the butter.
Recipe Tips and Notes:
Susie Weinrich says
This zucchini side dish was perfect with grilled steaks!