And when I say bejeezus, I mean bejeezus. Don’t be afraid!
Growing up, I loved vegetables, preferring them steamed of boiled, occasionally lightly sautéed. I always took care not to overcook them, careful to leave them crunchy with vitamins intact.
After moving here and being spoonfed (okay, maybe not spoonfed, but you get the picture) by a diverse sampling of French women, I noticed one thing most had in common when it came to vegetables:
They cooked the hell out of them.
At first I was outraged, “Where do all of the vitamins go?!” I swore to maintain a healthy lifestyle for my husband and myself by not falling into the same trap. I steamed and I sauteéed carefully, and I felt pride for the little bit of good I was doing for those who would eat my cuisine, for I had served them not only dinner, but vitamins.
Then, several months ago, following some family drama, you know the kind that makes people speak in hushed silences and with pity, my sister in law came to stay with us for a few weeks.
One night she made dinner, and as a side prepared some zuchinni in olive oil.
Now we eat a lot of zuchinni in Provence, probably since it’s cheap and grows like all get out, and I have often included zuchinni based dishes in our meals. But never, ever had I sacreligiously cooked zuchinni to the mushy mess that I saw her doing in my kitchen. I retaliated by making a salad, and in typical fashion of women who are not close, do not necessarily get along well, but are forced into the same family circle by incidence or marraige, we each placed our prepared dish onto the table, with a main dish of something that I cannot even remember.
My husband came to the table and we began to serve ourselves . I politely took a frugal portion of her soggy zuchinni, as she did for my crisp salad. My husband dished a little of everything onto his own plate.
Then we began eating, and as the conversation rolled along, a deep moan came from the back of my husband’s throat.
“Oh my God, ma chérie, what did you do to this zuchinni?”
I politely answered that I had not made it, and as I bit down into my own squishy heaven, I decided it would be that last time that another woman would make my husband moan.
I have been overcooking vegetables ever since.
The recipe for my sister in law’s heavenly zuchinni is a basic recipe that can be used for eggplant, squash and certainly many other vegetables in order to give them a deep Provençal flavor.
Courgettes à l’huile d’olive:
5 – 6 zuchinni
@6-10 tbsp olive oil
1 – 2 garlic cloves
basil
salt
Wash and chop zuchinni. I tend to cut the pieces large, but it really doesn’t matter, you can do whatever size you prefer. Pour olive oil into the bottom of a deep saucepan. Heat on about medium. Put the zuchinni into the saucepan, and stir immediately and thouroughly to be sure that the olive oil coats all of the different pieces. Let sautée, stirring occasionally.
If you feel the mixture is too dry or if it sticks to the bottom of the pan, you can add more olive oil.
Chop the basil and garlic while you are waiting.
Let the vegetables cook a bit, and then add the herbs. Then just let it keep cooking. It should get nearly soggy looking. It is at this point that I add the garlic and salt to taste. (If you put the garlic in too early it will overcook, and add a bitter taste to the vegetables.)
Once you feel like you have adequately cooked the bejeezus out of your vegetables, and they are losing form, soggy and falling apart, they are likely ready!
