zucchina trombetta

summer squash "Trombetta"
If you see a vegetable of this lovely color and interesting shape, you must get it, right? And that is what I did. I am not referring to the eggplant (melanzana), but to the zucchina embracing it. Once I had it in my basket, I knew I would cook some of it with the eggplant and make a soup with the rest. I read that zucchina trombetta (or zucca trombetta) belongs to the species Cucurbita moschata (as does butternut squash).

The following week, I eagerly sought another specimen of zucchina trombetta, but had to wait another week for my provider to have two more zucchine to bring to the market, one of them elegantly shaped like a letter S. They were so pretty it was almost a pity to slice them and cook them. But cook them I did, and another pot of soup was the result.

The lady who grew the zucchine is happy with the result of her experiment, so I am hoping there will be more zucchine trombetta next year, as in any case, this is the end of the season. She and I have been talking also about other interesting kinds of squash, like the zucchina lunga typical of Sicily.

The zucchina trombetta is typical of Liguria (Albenga, to be precise). Its light and bright green color is a pleasure to the eyes. The flesh is pale in color and firm in texture, without seeds. I am sure it is great in many dishes, but probably because the weather turned cold and rainy, soup was what captured my imagination.

I wanted to taste the zucchina's flavor as much as possible, so I kept other ingredients to a minimum. I chopped half of a rather large red onion (cipolla rossa) and cooked it in a bit of warm olive oil while I was slicing the zucchine (about 1.5 lbs out of the total weight). I added four cups of liquid, which included a bit more than a cup of homemade vegetable stock and the liquid leftover from cooking some beans (about half a cup). The rest was water. As I mentioned before, I like my soups quite dense, so I tend to hold the liquid at this stage and add more, if needed, after I have puréed the vegetables. I brought the soup to a boil and then cooked for half an hour, until the vegetable were soft. At this point I added the leaves of a twig of fresh marjoram (maggiorana) and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and stirred.

I puréed the soup with my immersion blender and when I tasted it to adjust the seasoning, I was very pleased with the result, in terms of flavor, texture and color. I served it once with some whole-grain Ethiopian barley cooked in my pressure cooker (more on this in an upcoming post) and another time with slices of my homemade bread, lightly toasted.

This is my contribution to edition #209 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now administered by Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything At Least Once and hosted this week by Astrid of Paulchen's Foodblog.

Here is the roundup of the event.

Hear me pronounce the words on the zucchina trombetta audio file [mp3] or go to the zucchina trombetta audio page for more listening options.

Comments

[Paz]

Wow! What an interesting shape. Glad you were able to come up with a nice recipe.

Paz

[Foodycat]

I have never seen a squash like that! What a graceful shape.

[Simona]

I am glad too, Paz. It is indeed an elegantly shaped vegetable.

I hadn't seen it either, Foodycat. It's so beautiful to just look at it.

[Sabrine d'Aubergine]

La forma di queste zucchine è davvero straordinaria, ma... hai mai conosciuto le zucchine serpente di Sicilia? Vedo che tu citi la zucchina lunga, ma non mi pare la stessa... comunque, se ti interessa, questa è la mia avventura (con conseguente ricetta):
http://fragoleamerenda.blogspot.com/2009/06/crema-di-zucchine-e-foglie-di-ravanello.html

A presto

Sabrine

PS: interesting blog...

[Joanne]

Oh wow that is one crazy zucchini! I would have been forced to buy it as well. You definitely did a good job cooking it, this soup sounds delicious.

[Jeremy Parzen]

Simona, the photographs are stunning! Did you take those? What camera did you use?

[Simona]

Ciao Sabrine. Onestamente, non conoscevo il termine "zucchina serpente." Dalle foto mi sembra che sia la stessa cosa della zucchina lunga. La cosa interessante e' che zucchina serpente e zucchina trombetta sono imparentante, essendo entrambe tipi di Cucurbita moschata.

Thanks, Joanne. Based on my experience, being tempted by strange-looking vegetables usually leads to interesting adventures.

Grazie, Jeremy, per il complimento. Actually, I am still fumbling a lot with the camera, which I bought not long ago. It is a Nikon D5000 and so far I am happy with it.

[Ivy]

That's a very unusual zucchini. Is it the same like snake gourd I have seen used in some Indian recipes?

[thé]

Hello
Yes this is with interesting shape and color and I also like your new recipe.I have never try this zucchina trombetta before but now I want to taste it.I really like that you share this with us.

[Merisi]

Beautiful vegetable indeed!
I have discovered fresh marjoram quite recently,
tastes so much better than the dried one.
I love it with potatoes, sauteed with a little olive oil.

[Bellini Valli]

I love all creamy type soups, it is how my mother conviced me to eat cauliflower as a child. Some things never change, and I would love a large bowl of this nice warm soup.

[Simona]

Hi Ivy. I looked up snake gourd and its scientific name is Trichosanthes cucumerina, so it is not the same plant as the one I am describing. Thanks for the question: I had actually not heard of this plant.

Thank you.

Ciao Merisi. Indeed, fresh marjoram is a treat.

Ciao Valli. As a child, I wanted creamy soups and did not usually get them, so now I indulge my old wishes. Cream of cauliflower: that's a nice idea.

[Cheri]

I am loving the shape of those zucchine. I don't blame you for not wanting to cut them up, but I am sure your soup was deliciously worth it! ;)

[Peter]

That looks like a graceful green swan.
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"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
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[Simona]

Thanks, Cheri. I was surprised nobody else seemed to jump on them the way I did.

A very nice comparison, Peter.