This recipe came about the same way that Two Bean Salad did last week. I was scrounging around the fridge and pantry trying to figure out a simple side dish to make to go along with the chicken I was making.
I found a lemon, a zucchini, and some leftover feta and decided to go with it. I zested the lemon right into a butter/EVOO combo in my skillet to really infuse the flavor. I also let the skillet sit covered for a few minutes before I served so that the feta would melt a little. It was really a quick and easy side dish to make. The lemon brightened everything up and the feta added a salty goodness. Yum.
This recipe serves only 2, but you can easily increase the number of zucchinis as well as the amount of feta to feed more. I would recommend still starting with the juice from just ½ of a lemon, tasting, and then adding more if desired. (Lemon juice would be really hard to dilute in this dish if you add too much!)
Start with the zucchini…
- Slice 1 zucchini into thin half moons.
- Melt some butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. (Choose a skillet with a large surface area. You want each piece of zucchini to lay flat on the skillet. Work in batches if you need to.)
- Add a little EVOO.
- Sprinkle the zest from half of a lemon into the melted butter and olive oil.
- Add the zucchini in a single layer. (Again, work in batches if you can’t fit them all at once. I did.)
- Mince up a little bit of garlic.
- Add the garlic to the skillet.
- Sauté the zucchini until golden, about 3 minutes.
- Flip the zucchini.
- Season everything with some pepper and a teeny amount of salt.
- Stir to combine and let cook for a couple more minutes.
- Squeeze in the juice from that half of a lemon you zested earlier.
- Shut the heat off and sprinkle in some salty crumbled feta.
- Stir one last time.
Cover the skillet and let the residual heat melt the feta a bit. (Feta doesn’t really melt, per say. But it will become creamier and luscious.)
Enjoy!
*If you like this recipe, you may also want to try: Garlic Roasted Zucchini and Lemon Roasted Green Beans.
One Year Ago: Grilled Caprese Chicken
Two Years Ago: Pepperoni & Mozzarella Chicken Rollatini
Three Years Ago: Corn, Bacon, and Potato Chowder
*Side Note: I’m using a new format for my recipes in posts, as you can see below (another perk of switching to WordPress). It includes a print button. I hope you like it! Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- zest from ½ of a lemon
- 1 zucchini, sliced into thin half moons
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ⅛ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- juice from ½ of a lemon
- ¼ cup crumbled feta
- Melt the butter with the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Sprinkle in the lemon zest and let cook for 30 seconds.
- Place the zucchini in a single layer in the skillet.
- Add the garlic.
- Cook for about 3 minutes, then flip the zucchini.
- Season the zucchini with the salt and pepper.
- Stir to incorporate.
- Let cook for another 2 minutes.
- Squeeze in the lemon juice.
- Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Add the feta.
- Stir to combine.
- Cover the skillet for a couple of minutes before serving to let the cheese melt.
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