Zucchini, Basil, Tomato Saute

This is a side dish that they serve at a restaurant here in Steamboat called "Three Peaks Grill". No, it's not actually their recipe but the owner did tell me what went into it and I couldn't be more thrilled. I have actually made a mock version of this before using all the same stuff as it's not hard to tell what the ingredients are. It's very straight forward, but also, for some reason extra yummy. Maybe its the way you cut the zucchini into pretty little strips, or the way that all the ingredients come together and just mesh. What ever the reason, it's fresh, pure and simple with pops of fresh basil and tangy fresh lemon. It really tastes like Summer on a plate.

I made this a couple days ago on Thursday for our family dinner. My Aunt was in town and we had a little get together. This side dish went really well with our grilled salmon but I really like it with seared tuna, normally. I only recommend you make this when zucchini and tomatoes are in peak season. There's nothing worse to me than a mealy tomato. Ugh, the mere thought of it makes me shudder.

Zucchini, Basil, Tomato Saute

adapted from "Three Peaks Grill"

Olive Oil

4 medium zucchini, cut into a large julianne

2 medium tomatoes, cut into medium dice

15 leaves fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade

juice from 1 lemon

kosher salt

pepper

Serves 6-8

For the zucchini; cut each zucchini into quarter inch rounds, then cut those rounds 3 or 4 times across so you end up with small strips of zucchini.

Heat a saute pan over medium heat and add a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add the zucchini and stir occasionally until it is starting to wilt then add the tomato chunks and saute everything together until almost cooked through. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste (you need quite a lot to bring the flavors out) and cook for another minute. Finally, take the vegetables off the heat and add the basil. Stir to combine and serve immediately.

I know it's kind of cheating when I blog about something like this. I find that sometimes I get really wrapped up in more complicated dishes that I forget about the less complicated and let's face it, simpler is sometimes better.