Zucchini and sun-dried tomato relish

This recipe was inspired by a recipe I saw in Gourmet magazine, but it was made with eggplant. Since Mike is allergic to eggplant, I changed it up to use zucchini, which I think makes it a little more sturdy and relish-like rather than a dip. I think that's part of what makes cooking so much fun... you don't like an ingredient, substitute what you do like. It gives you an opportunity to custom-build the recipe to what you palate enjoys the most.

I originally served this up as a crostini topper at a recent game night, but the next day I sauteed up the relish as a side to eggs over easy. You could also take this as a mix in to a rice salad, or as a flavorful topping to a pizza with a little fresh mozzarella. I apologize that the picture is not that clear, but I think you'll get the idea that it is a colorful addition to the dinner table.


Zucchini and sun-dried tomato relish

Ingredients:
1 head of garlic
6 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
2 1/2 lbs zucchini
1/3 c. oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped, plus 2 T. tomato oil
1/2 c. chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 c. chpped basil
1 Tbsp lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Cut off and discard top of garlic head to expose cloves, brush top of head with 1/2 T olive oil. Wrap garlic in foil and roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Cool until you can handle it with your fingers. Squeeze the garlic cloves from the skins into a small bowl, discard the skins.
3. Cut the zucchini into a 1/2 inch dice.
4. Heat 2 T of alive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the zucchini in three batches (adding salt and pepper to each batch) until it is browned and tender. Transfer to a large bowl.
5. Add about a 1/2 c. of the zucchini to the bowl with the garlic and mash together. Add the mashed mixture to the rest of the zucchini.
6. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes.
7. Just before serving, stir in the parsley, basil and lemon juice. (If needed, re-season with salt and pepper if needed) Drizzle the top with tomato oil.

Note: You can do steps 1-6 a day ahead. Serve warm, or at room temperature.