Zucchini Ribbons and Rainbow Chard with Chorizo

Once in awhile, something comes along and knocks your socks off and you have no idea it’s coming. This is how I feel about this dish: zucchini ribbons and rainbow chard with chorizo. What more do I need to say?

So here’s the story: zucchini and rainbow chard, among other veggies, turn up in my CSA box. When in doubt with recipe ideas, I’ve always relied on Yotam Ottolenghi. There are no shortage of good recipes that pop up regularly on print, social media or your email inbox. However, as vibrant vegetable cooking goes, if there is such a category, Ottolenghi takes the prize.

The vegetables in the dish may not look roasted. But they are briefly roasted for 13 minutes at 450°F, a much shorter duration than most roasting. At this stage of cooking, the rainbow chard and zucchini become tender, and take on no color while retaining brightly green and a bite. Actually, it’s a two-step process: the chard leaves go into the oven in the last five minutes of cooking. By any measure, this is one-sheet-pan cooking at its fineness and fastest.

The flavor comes from deep frying the finely-chopped chorizo at high heat and by combining it with the aromatics: garlic and herbs. So simple and, yet, refreshingly delicious. Ottolenghi recommends serving the dish with rice, barley or alongside roast chicken. I serve mine with rice and quinoa.

I couldn’t wait to get more rainbow chard and zucchinis. Next time, I’ll get after and add more of the brilliant color from the stalks of rainbow chard. A dish like this should look equally stunning as it is delectable.

Print Recipe

Zucchini Ribbons and Rainbow Chard with Chorizo

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 375g rainbow (or swiss) chard, trimmed and cut widthways into 8cm pieces
• 2 zucchinis, trimmed and thinly sliced lengthways – I use a vegetable peeler to do this (320g net weight)
• 75ml olive oil
• 2 lemons – zest finely grated, to get 1 tbsp, then juiced, to get 1½ tbsp
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 medium (70g) cooking chorizo, skinned and meat finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 5g dill leaves, roughly torn into sprigs, (I use green onions instead)
• 5g basil leaves, roughly torn

Instructions

1

Heat the oven to 230°C/450°F and position a rack near the top.

2

Cut the thicker, bottom part of the chard stalks in half lengthways (so they’re roughly the same width as the thinner parts), then put in a bowl with the zucchinis. Put the chard leaves in a second bowl.

3

Combine 60ml olive oil with two teaspoons of lemon zest and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Pour half the oil mixture into each bowl and toss to coat the vegetables (take care not to break the zucchini ribbons). Tip the zucchinis and stalks on to a large oven tray lined with patchment paper, spreading them out as much as possible.

4

Roast for eight minutes, until just cooked but still bright and retaining a bite.

5

Spread the chard leaves over the top of the roast veg and return the tray to the oven for five minutes, until the leaves are slightly crisp. Take everything out on to a large platter, to stop the vegetables cooking (they will be hot, so just slide them off the parchment paper). When they are cool enough to handle, gently toss so everything is mixed together.

6

Heat a medium nonstick frying pan on a high flame. Once hot, fry the chorizo for four minutes, stirring, until cooked and crisp, then take off the heat and stir in the garlic and the remaining tablespoon of oil.

7

Gently mix half the herbs into the vegetables and scatter the rest on top. Spoon the garlicky chorizo and its oil over the vegetables, then finish by sprinkling over the remaining lemon zest and juice, and a good grind of pepper.

Notes

https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/courgette-ribbons-and-rainbow-chard-with-chorizo