Zucchini Meatballs

New student files arrived. Eight kids again — different eight, different needs, different histories. I read every file twice, made the one-page summaries, and started planning the room configurations. One student uses a walker. I rearranged the furniture before I read the rest of the files because the walker needed clear pathways and clear pathways were the first thing to solve. The room is ready in its bones. The details come with the first week.

Ryan asked to see the classroom. Not on the first day with students — he knows it is not a zoo. But before school starts, when I am setting up. I said yes. He came in on Thursday, the first day I had access, and walked around the room the way he walked around my kitchen: carefully, respectfully, noticing things. He picked up one of the picture-exchange symbols from the corkboard and asked "What's this one?" I explained the system. He listened and asked two follow-up questions. He looked at the walker path I had cleared and said "That's thoughtful." I said that is the job. He said "It's more than the job."

Made zucchini bread this week — the loaf kind, with shredded zucchini and cinnamon and nutmeg and walnuts. The zucchini makes it incredibly moist without tasting like zucchini, which is the magic trick at the heart of zucchini bread. The late-summer zucchini from the market was three for a dollar. One loaf cost under two dollars. I brought half of it to the classroom for the setup days and ate the other half at home with Ryan, who declared it "not at all what I expected from zucchini." Correct. That is the correct response.

The school year starts in two weeks. Ryan starts a new rotation schedule in two weeks. The summer is ending in its particular way — the light changing, the market winding down its peak produce, the nights getting cooler. Everything is settling. Everything is about to begin again. That is what August always is.

The same week I made the bread, I had two more zucchini sitting on the counter — the three-for-a-dollar haul had been generous — and I wasn’t ready to make another loaf. What I’ve learned about zucchini is what I’ve learned about a lot of things this summer: it does its best work quietly, folded into something else, making everything around it more tender. These zucchini meatballs work exactly the same magic as the bread, and they’ve become my answer to the last weeks of August when the market is still giving and the school year is almost here and dinner needs to be simple and good.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 4 (about 16 meatballs)

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (or a mix of beef and pork)
1 cup shredded zucchini, excess moisture squeezed out
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 large egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil (for pan-frying, optional)
2 cups marinara sauce, warmed, for serving

Instructions

Prep the zucchini. Shred the zucchini on a box grater, then place in a clean kitchen towel or paper towels and squeeze firmly to remove as much liquid as possible. You want about 3/4 cup after squeezing.
Mix the meatballs. In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, squeezed zucchini, breadcrumbs, egg, garlic, Parmesan, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix gently with your hands until just combined — do not overwork the meat.
Form the meatballs. Roll the mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (roughly the size of a golf ball). You should get 15–18 meatballs.
Cook. For pan-frying: heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs in a single layer and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides and cooked through, about 12–15 minutes. For baking: arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 400°F for 20–25 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned.
Finish and serve. Spoon warm marinara sauce into a serving dish or skillet, nestle the meatballs into the sauce, and let them rest together for 5 minutes before serving. Serve over pasta, with crusty bread, or on their own.

Nutrition (per serving)

Zucchini Meatballs — When Late-Summer Zucchini Has One More Trick Up Its Sleeve