What to use instead of zucchini
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Mild summer vegetable that softens into a stew
It gives off a lot of water as it cooks and the flesh collapses into a soft, mild body that carries the oil and tomato around it.
Yellow summer squashRan out
Match by weight
The same in every way apart from the colour, and it goes to mush a couple of minutes sooner.
Eggplant, salted and drained 30 minutesRan out
Match by weight
Drinks far more oil and turns silky and dark, and it needs about 10 minutes longer in the pot.
Chayote, cut smallRan out
Match by weight
Stays crunchy for ages and never fully collapses, so the stew keeps bite in it and stays drier.
Green beans in 2-inch lengthsRan out
Match by weight
Holds shape completely and adds no water, so the stew stays thick and looks nothing like the original.
What doesn't work: Cucumber. It looks the same on the board and it is mostly water too, but there is no starch holding the flesh together, so it goes translucent and slimy and waters the pot down.
Shredded vegetable that binds into a fritter
Salted and squeezed, the shreds mat together with the flour and the remaining starch holds the cake in one piece in the pan.
Shredded yellow squashRan out
Match by weight, salted and squeezed
Behaves identically in the batter and fries a paler, sweeter fritter.
Shredded potato, rinsed and squeezedRan out
Match by weight
Far more starch, so it binds harder and crisps better, and it turns grey if the mix stands more than ten minutes.
Shredded carrotRan out
Match by weight, plus 1 tbsp liquid
Much less water, so the mix is dry without the extra liquid. Sweeter, and it stays crunchy in the middle.
Shredded winter squash or sweet potatoRan out
Match by weight
Sweeter and denser, browns much faster from the sugar, and it needs an extra couple of minutes to cook through.
What doesn't work: Skipping the salt-and-squeeze step. Zucchini is about 95% water and it lets go of all of it in the pan, so the batter thins to soup and the fritter steams grey instead of frying.
Hollow shell that holds a stuffing
The walls stay together through a bake and the flesh you scoop out goes back into the filling, so nothing is wasted and the shell seasons itself.
Eggplant, halved and scoredRan out
1 small eggplant per 2 zucchini
Absorbs much more oil and bakes softer, and it wants a 15-minute head start before the filling goes in.
Bell peppers, hollowedRan out
1 pepper per zucchini
Sweeter and sturdier over a long bake, with no flesh to add back into the filling.
Acorn squash halvesRan out
Half a small squash per zucchini, roasted 25 minutes first
Sweet and dense with a much longer cook, and the shell holds its shape no matter how long it sits.
What doesn't work: A marrow-sized zucchini because it holds more filling. The seed core is loose and watery and the walls are spongy, so it collapses and floods the dish halfway through the bake.