Zucchini, Tomato, Onion Skillet
Serves 4 as a side · 20 minutes · one pan
The kind of thing you make in August when the zucchini won't stop coming. The tomatoes break down into a loose, glossy sauce, the onions go sweet, and half teaspoon of Maine Sea Greens does the quiet work underneath — no ocean taste, just depth you can't quite name.
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Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini, sliced into ¼-inch coins
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (or 2 medium tomatoes, chopped)
- 1 medium yellow onion, halved and sliced thin
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon Maine Sea Greens, divided
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus good oil for finishing
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
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Method
1. Dry the zucchini. Lay the coins on a towel and pat them dry, then salt
them lightly and leave them 10 minutes. Blot again. This is the whole
difference between browned zucchini and steamed zucchini.
2. Sweat the onion. Warm the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat.
Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook 5–6 minutes, until soft and
translucent at the edges.
3. Garlic, briefly. Add the sliced garlic and cook 45 seconds, just until
it smells like something. Don't let it color.
4. Brown the zucchini. Turn the heat to medium-high and add the zucchini in
a single layer. Leave it alone 3–4 minutes so it takes on color, then toss
and give it 2 more. It should be tender but still have a spine.
5. Add the tomatoes and season. Stir in the tomatoes and ¼ teaspoon Maine
Sea Greens. Cook 4–5 minutes, until the tomatoes slump and release their
juice and everything comes together into a loose sauce. Grind in plenty of
black pepper.
6. Finish off the heat. Pull the pan from the burner. Sprinkle the remaining
¼ teaspoon Maine Sea Greens over the top and taste for salt — the seaweed
carries its own minerality, so you'll likely need less than you expect.
7. Drizzle to finish. Pour a generous ribbon of good olive oil over the whole
pan while it's still hot. It pulls the sea greens and the tomato juices into
one glossy sauce, and raw oil tastes nothing like cooked oil — this is the
step that makes the dish.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Notes
On the sea greens. Half a teaspoon across four servings sits right in the
⅛-to-1-teaspoon-per-serving range. Half goes in during cooking to build the
base; half goes on at the end, where it stays brighter. If you're new to it,
start with ¼ teaspoon total and work up.
On the oil. Two separate jobs. The oil in the pan is there to brown; the oil
at the end is there to taste — so use your best bottle for the drizzle and save
the everyday one for the skillet. Butter works for the cooking oil too, and
makes it richer.
To stretch it into dinner. Spoon it over polenta, toss it with pasta and its
own juices, or crack two eggs into the hot pan at the end and cover until set.