The extra-virgin olive oil from Countess Lisa-Contini Bonacossi's estate is a favorite of mine and an important element in Lisa 's great cooking. She has an easy going style, changing recipes according to what's in the garden and larder, and is hard to pin down about quantities. Lisa slices her zucchini with an electric meat slicer. I use the 3-mm. blade of my food processor to slice by hand, not with the machine.

　　Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Ingredients

　　4 medium zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds total), trimmed

　　1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced

　　2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves

　　fine sea salt to taste

　　freshly ground black pepper to taste

　　3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

　　Slice zucchini lengthwise 1/8 inch thick with a mandoline or other hand-held slicing device. Heat a lightly oiled well seasoned cast-iron ridged grill pan over moderately high heat until hot and grill zucchini slices in batches until grill marks appear, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Arrange zucchini slices as grilled in one layer on a platter and sprinkle with garlic and parsley. Season zucchini with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil.

　　Reprinted with permission from Red, White, and Greens: The Italian Way With Vegetables, copyright 1996 by Faith Willinger. Buy the full book on Amazon.