A fresh idea for this green wonder veggie: Zucchini and Salmon Planks

“At least our garden had zucchini this year.” This is not a claim I can make for myself, but I’ve heard several people brag on their zucchini crop this summer even while bemoaning that most everything else—even okra!—didn’t make. Now that’s a bad year, when someone’s (indomitable) okra doesn’t perform. But those who had okra crop failure still seemed to have zucchini. Go figure. We’ve planted zucchini for several summers and haven’t seen, as my mother would have said, “hide nor hair of it”.

Never fear, however. Farmers’ markets and grocery stores seem to have plentiful supplies of this summer veggie. Zucchini, which contains lutein, is worth the effort to get on the table. Lutein is good for the eyes and is known to help ward off cataracts and macular degeneration. Having seen my mom’s vision decline drastically because of macular degeneration, I want to keep that depriving condition at bay in my own life, for sure. I’d be willing to eat zucchini every day if that would happen.

Prevention magazine’s August 2011 installment featured zucchini as its pet veggie for the month and offered seven “fast and fresh ideas”, as Prevention described them, for cooking it. The recipe I tried was called “Zucchini-Wrapped Salmon”, but my zucchini must have not been sliced thinly enough to do the wrap number, so I made it into “Zucchini and Salmon Planks”—same great flavor and same pairing of zucchini with salmon, the wonder fish. The health properties of cholesterol-lowering salmon know no bounds. Everywhere one reads, some new benefit of salmon is being touted.

A simple sprinkle of thyme and a spraying with cooking oil gives this tender, light summer meal all the seasoning it needs to be delicious.

Will we try with zucchini again next season? Probably. Congrats to all gardeners who had a positive outcome in this challenging summer.

Zucchini and Salmon Planks

4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets

1 large zucchini cut into thin lengthwise slices

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

cooking spray

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray cooking oil onto baking sheet. Cut fillets into plank-like portions (basically strips that are about 4-inches long and 2-inches wide). Lay one or two zucchini strips atop salmon planks (or wrap the zucchini around the salmon fillets, if your zucchini strips are thin and malleable enough). Spray fish and zucchini combinations very lightly with cooking spray. Bake until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Makes 4 servings.