Torquato Innocenti, who sells his just-harvested, still-prickly zucchini — with flowers attached, a sure sign of freshness — offered me simple advice for the vegetable. Roast them whole in a "puddle" of oil and serve with basil. I bought a bag of his smallest (cigar-size) zucchini, pan-roasted them until browned sprinkled them with chopped basil — and loved the results.

　　Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 4

　　8 to 10 freshest possible cigar-size zucchini, trimmed

　　2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

　　2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

　　fine sea salt to taste

　　freshly ground black pepper to taste

　　

Step 1

In a large heavy non-stick skillet combine zucchini and 1 tablespoon oil, shaking skillet to coat zucchini completely with oil. Cook zucchini over moderate heat, shaking skillet occasionally, until browned evenly, 20 to 25 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Transfer zucchini to a platter and sprinkle with basil and salt and pepper. Drizzle zucchini with remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons oil and serve hot or at room temperature.

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