Cheesy Tex-Mex Zucchini Skillet

The garden is peaking. Tomatoes are coming in red and heavy. Zucchini is threatening to take over the county. Beans are filling the baskets. This is the two weeks of summer when the garden goes from producing to overproducing, and the line between plenty and too much is a zucchini on the neighbor's porch.

I made ratatouille. It's not a Vermont dish — it's French, Provençal, a celebration of summer vegetables that works just as well with Vermont produce as it does with whatever they grow in Provence. Eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic. You slice everything, layer it in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and herbs — thyme, basil, a bay leaf — and slow-roast at 300 degrees until the vegetables collapse into each other and become something richer and more unified than any individual vegetable has a right to be.

It's a humble dish. Nothing showy, nothing expensive, just vegetables doing what vegetables do when you give them time and heat and a little oil. I wrote about it for the blog and someone commented, "This is what I imagine a retired teacher's kitchen looks like." I'm not sure what that means, but I choose to take it as a compliment. My kitchen looks like a kitchen where someone cooks. That's all it needs to look like.

Helen canned twelve quarts of tomato sauce this week. The kitchen was a steam bath — jars boiling, lids sealing, the pop-pop-pop of vacuum seals forming that sounds like tiny applause. She's in her element. Retirement hasn't slowed her down — it's redirected her energy from patients to produce, and the produce is receiving the same level of professional attention that her patients got, which is to say: thorough, competent, and not to be argued with.

Frost caught another chipmunk. Same result as last time — catch, confusion, release. The chipmunk ran. Frost sat at the base of the tree, apparently learning nothing from history. I respect his optimism. I do not share it. But respect is enough.

The ratatouille is gone. The sauce is jarred. The zucchini is on Jerry's porch. Summer at full strength. The kitchen is busy. The garden is generous. We take what it gives. We put it in jars. We put it on plates. We eat. We go on.

The ratatouille handled one round of the surplus, but the garden doesn’t negotiate. When zucchini started showing up again the next morning like nothing had happened, I went a different direction — faster, louder, with cheese involved. This Tex-Mex zucchini skillet is what happens when Vermont abundance meets a pantry with cumin and a bag of shredded cheddar. It’s not Provençal, but it uses the same arithmetic: lots of summer vegetables, a little heat, and something that makes the whole thing hold together. Helen approved. The garden did not care either way.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 medium zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch half-moons
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz) diced fire-roasted tomatoes, with juices
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
Fresh cilantro, sour cream, and lime wedges for serving

Instructions

Sauté aromatics. Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Add zucchini. Add the zucchini to the skillet in a single layer as best you can. Season with salt and pepper. Cook without stirring for 2–3 minutes to get some color on the zucchini, then stir and continue cooking another 2 minutes. The zucchini should be tender but not mushy.
Season and add beans and tomatoes. Sprinkle in the cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes if using. Stir to coat everything in the spices. Add the corn, black beans, and fire-roasted tomatoes with their juices. Stir to combine and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 5 minutes until most of the liquid has reduced and the mixture is cohesive.
Add cheese. Taste and adjust salt. Scatter the shredded cheese evenly over the top of the skillet. Cover with a lid or foil and let sit off the heat for 2–3 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted. Alternatively, place the skillet under the broiler for 2 minutes for a lightly browned top.
Serve. Bring the skillet straight to the table. Serve with fresh cilantro, a dollop of sour cream, and lime wedges for squeezing over the top. Good with warm tortillas or over rice.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cheesy Tex-Mex Zucchini Skillet — When the Garden Wins, You Improvise