On Friday, after work, I stopped at the new farmers’ market just a few minutes from home and filled my recycled cotton bag with honey‑scented melons, the freshest garlic, crisp zucchini and small ruby‑red plums, sweet and juicy. The vegetables were still warm from the sun, lightly dusted with dark soil. They were so fresh and carefully grown they might as well have come from my own garden.
I couldn’t wait until the next day — the zucchini were firm and fragrant, and the garlic was unlike any I’d seen at the market before: cloves lunar white with an earthy aroma, juicy and fragrant. I decided to cook them straight away.
Summer, carefree and bright, suggested a simple recipe: zucchini with a clove of fresh garlic and a sprig of oregano snipped from the pot on the garden wall. A humble dish, ready in five minutes, styled and photographed in three — yet it earned its place on my Monday morning post, the one I usually polish the most.
Today I’m sharing a side dish — a section rather absent from the blog. A bowl of ripe tomatoes with Maldon salt and apple cider vinegar can transform a meal, but sometimes the side deserves to become the true star.
Zucchini with fresh garlic and oregano
Giulia
Ingredients
- 5 medium zucchini
- 1 clove fresh garlic
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 sprig fresh oregano or 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
-
Wash the zucchini and cut them into medium‑sized cubes.
-
Crush the garlic clove with the back of a knife and warm it in a pan with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat for a minute to infuse the oil.
-
Add the zucchini, torn oregano leaves, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat without a lid, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. If zucchini are less tender, cook up to 10 minutes, adding a tablespoon of hot water if needed. I prefer them slightly crisp and al dente to preserve their freshness.
-
Serve warm, sprinkled with a few fresh oregano leaves.
Order now Vegetables the Italian WayWith more than 70 seasonal recipes, it celebrates the instinctive, resourceful spirit of Italian home cooking.
Summer, summer… I’ve mentioned summer often lately, and now I can finally show you my summer. This is where I live — where I’m lucky to live. In these golden days I feel like I’m living in my own corner of Eden: the place I chose to stay, the place that belongs to me and that I belong to.
And now, the big news! Last week my very first book was published: My Grandma’s Recipes – a year in my kitchen. I can hardly believe I’m writing these words — my book — but it’s true. Inside you’ll find roughly eighty recipes from the blog, organized by season and accompanied by photographs. The book is bilingual, in Italian and English. I’ll add a dedicated page with more information soon.
If you happen to be in Tuscany and want to stop by, I’ll be at two launch events:
- Monday 27 June in Siena — 6:30 pm at the Bookshop at Palazzo Ravizza, Pian dei Mantellini, 34.
- Tuesday 28 June in Poggibonsi — 6:30 pm at Libreria di Poggibonsi, Via Trento, 19.
The book is available in shops and supermarkets in Tuscany, Milan and Rome. If you can’t find it or don’t live nearby, you can order it by email at [email protected].