The poor man’s zucchini is a traditional dish from the rural cuisine of Southern Italy, especially Apulia, a region often associated with seafood cuisine, but boasting an equally rich and surprising rural tradition: it reminds me, for example, of the rice, potato, and artichoke tiella, the rural version of the one with mussels, or the tasty pepper scacchiata.
The name “poor man’s” refers to the simplicity of the ingredients: zucchini, vinegar, garlic, and mint. Few, economical elements, yet capable of delivering a rich and aromatic flavor.
This traditional Apulian recipe with zucchini has much in common with other similar regional dishes:
• Neapolitan zucchini alla scapece
• the Roman-style zucchini concia
• the Piedmontese zucchini in carpione
However, all these versions involve frying in deep oil, whereas the Apulian poor man’s zucchini is cooked in a pan with little oil, like trifoliate zucchini.
A precious detail that distinguishes this recipe is the “sun-drying” technique: according to the traditional poor man’s zucchini recipe, once sliced, the zucchini should be dried in the sun to lose their vegetative water and avoid absorbing too much oil during cooking. If you have the opportunity, give it a try! Alternatively, you can let them rest between two clean dish towels for a few hours.
The poor man’s zucchini is a simple and appetizing recipe, perfect for those looking for a tasty, genuine side dish, excellent served cold.
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Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Very cheap
Rest time: 2 Hours
Preparation time: 5 Minutes
Portions: 4People
Cooking methods: Stovetop
Cuisine: Regional Italian
Region: Apulia
Seasonality: Spring, Summer

122.60 Kcal

calories per serving

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Energy 122.60 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 6.18 (g) of which sugars 0.08 (g)
Proteins 5.27 (g)
Fat 10.11 (g) of which saturated 1.49 (g)of which unsaturated 0.39 (g)
Fibers 2.16 (g)
Sodium 103.18 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 110 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients for Poor Man’s Zucchini

1.76 lbs zucchini
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
A few leaves mint
to taste salt

Tools

1 Cutting board
1 Mandoline
1 Pan large non-stick
2 Tea towels

How to Prepare Apulian Poor Man’s Zucchini

To prepare poor man’s zucchini, start by washing and drying the zucchini. Slice them thinly, but not too thin, or they will fall apart during cooking. I used a mandoline (1) to make it quicker and to get slices all of the same thickness. If you don’t have one, a sharp knife is fine, as long as you can get slices about 1/16 inch thick (2). As mentioned, the traditional recipe involves drying the zucchini in the sun after arranging them on a table covered with a clean cloth; if you can’t do that, arrange the zucchini slices on a tea towel (3).
Cover them with another clean tea towel and let them rest for a couple of hours (4), or if possible, overnight. The more vegetative water they lose, the less oil they will absorb. Take a large non-stick pan and add the oil. Also, add the peeled garlic cloves (5). Sauté lightly, then add the zucchini (6).
Salt them and let them cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, without covering but stirring often (7) so they become evenly golden. Once they are cooked, turn the heat to high and deglaze with vinegar (8). Let it evaporate for just a few seconds, mixing well, then turn off the heat and add plenty of fresh, chopped mint (9).
Transfer the poor man’s zucchini to a bowl and let them cool completely before serving.