Relish Summer

Still summer! Summer can be a season of plenty. For those of us with quant home gardens, “plenty” is no problemo. But for friends of ours like Aubrey White, who helps run a dozen-or-so acre community garden, plenty can mean a small conference room filled with zucchini. That makes summer the right time to dust off your bottling and pickling skills.
Aubrey and her Davis, CA crew did just that last month when they pulled a glut of green zukes from the ground and turned their plethora into relish. The recipe came via sweet karma: A nosy neighbor came by and asked if they wanted to give away any produce and was sent home laden with zucchini. The next day he came back with a ‘thank you’ note. The guy had apparently convinced his wife to pen their family recipe for sweet zucchini relish and hand it over to the farm hands. Aubrey has, in turn, handed it over to Hot Knives. On a recent trip to L.A. she coached us through it by leaving a hand-scrawled note and the groceries and letting us play with the quantities.
So, while this is our take on the recipe (for better or worse), we gotta give massive props to the unidentified fam for leaking their heirloom recipe — and probably an apology for blogging it. This sweet stuff’s just too good not to share. Right now we like to slather it tacos and squirt it on hot dogs.

Zucchini Relish

(Makes about 2 quarts)
4 cups zucchini
1 cup red onion
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 cups cane sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 large yellow bell pepper
2 jalapenos
1. Start by drawing out the water in the vegetables. Finely dice your zucchini and onion, so it looks about the size of a rustic pickle relish, and place in a large bowl. Add salt and let sit for at least 3 hours (overnight works too).
2. The zucchini should have released a fair amount of water, drain this out and rinse the veggies thoroughly to get the salt off. Set aside.
3. In a large pot, combine sugar, vinegar and spices but not the cornstarch. Put pot on medium heat and bring to a near boil. Add the cornstarch and stir slowly for 2-3 minutes or until dissolved. Liquid should thicken slightly. Now add your zucchini and onion and place on simmer, or very low heat.
4. Dice and add to the pot your yellow bell pepper and jalapenos.
5. Let everything simmer for about 30 minutes, watching carefully that it doesn’t reach a boil. Set aside to cool. Use warm, room temperature or refrigerate. Will store for up to 2 weeks.