Umeboshi Zucchini & Peppers Confit Toast

In a matter of 30 mins, you’ll make the tastiest, juiciest, zingiest Zucchini Confit that will go so well with toasted crumb and a glass of chilled white wine. Perfect, fast and cheap delice worth high end places!

Say what? Confit? To be honest, at first, it sounded like something with confectioners sugar or confiture (which is jam) and something horribly complicated so I didn’t care much about it. But then my dear friend Aleksandra from Vanilla und Staubzucker blog made Pasta with Tomatoes Confit and Toasted Hazelnuts and I was totally blown away. Say what, Aleksandra? I want to make some of it too!

For those of you who read English only – Aleksandra’s blog is trilingual, so first there is Croatian version but scroll down, there you’ll find both Italian and English translation too!

Zucchinis are one of my all time fav veggies. You can check some nice Zucchini recipes here.

Since I didn’t have such tiny tomatoes right at hand and I was too impatient, I just used what I had. And as always, that “do what you can with what you have right now” approach really works the best. So I made the whole story greener, with vibrant zucchinis that were just freshly from the farmers’ market.

SO WHAT IS CONFIT?

For those of you whose grandmas, like mine, didn’t make Confits, or at least didn’t call it that way, let’s explain it a bit. Confit comes from the French verb confire, meaning to preserve. This would mean to cook the food in a liquid that would not be acceptable to bacteria, moulds or other food spoiling folks, meaning fruit in sugar (syrup), vegetables in fat. All poured in jars, closed tightly and that’s all to it.

IS THIS THING COMPLICATED TO MAKE?

This Confit is made in a matter of minutes, really. All you need to have is a nice vegetable, which in my case was Zucchini and Bell peppers, some garlic (a lot of it, when it comes to me), some salt and pepper and good quality olive oil.

Since I felt a little adventurous, I skipped the salt but added two generous tablespoons of Umeboshi paste that was waiting for something to do anyway. If you don’t have Umeboshi, just add some salt and squeeze some lemon over your Confit and you’re good to go.

Amount of Confit that I made in this recipe will not look much in your pot when you make it, but remember that you won’t be eating it with a spoon, rather putting few slices of Zucchini and drizzling with few drops of olive oil sparingly. Because there is a lot of oil here 😉 Whatever the leftovers,  put them in jars and keep for few days in your fridge, if they survive that long. But this amount will surely feed 4 – 6 people and will go a long way.

OH, YOU’LL WANT TO MAKE THIS ZUCCHINI CONFIT TOO!

This Umeboshi Zucchini & Bell peppers Toast is really easy to make and cheap. Most of all, it’s sinfully delicious, juicy and goes so well with grilled/toasted bread. On hot Summer days, it will pair nicely with both beer and wine or some cool beverage! I didn’t have it, but if you do have some great sourdough, make this dish even more delicious by toasting a slice since sourdough crumb is so delicious and makes things so much tastier!

Zucchini is not overcooked in this Confit so it will melt beautifully in your mouth, along with aromatic garlic and zingy Umeboshi. For an extra protein, I added some vegan sausages. And for an extra freshness and crunchiness here are some freshly sliced carrots and tomatoes!

And as great recipes often are, this one is just an example, an inspiration for you to play with and add what you do love. Maybe some eggplants instead of the Zucchini? And for a nice zingy, citrusy taste, you can use lemon or lime. Or, if you do like that strong, earthy, mighty salty taste, you can add a tbsp or two of soy paste.

Need more inspiration for easy, quick and cheap Summer cooking ideas? Check these out!

UMEBOSHI ZUCCHINI & BELL PEPPERS TOAST
serves 4 – 6

2 small-medium Zucchinis, sliced not too thinly
2 bell peppers, cut in stripes
2 cloves garlic (or more, if you like), minced
2 generous tbsp of Umeboshi paste (optional, can be substituted with Soy paste or just omitted)
pepper
salt (if not using Umeboshi or Soy paste)
lemon or lime juice (if not using Umeboshi or Soy paste, for extra zinginess)
ca 1 cup olive oil
toasted bread
fresh tomatoes and/or carrots, olives (optional)
sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional)
vegan sausages (optional)

Heat some of the oil and cook bell peppers on low – medium heat till they get brown a little. Then add Zucchini and the rest of the oil and cook some more, to make it soft but not overcooked. Add garlic and Umeboshi (if using), cook some more to combine everything nicely. Taste the seasonings and serve immediately or cooled with some toasted bread, sprinkled with sesame seeds and enriched with fresh veggies. If using vegan sausages, you can roast them quickly in the separate pan.

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