From Cucina Pratica

Subtitle of the cookbook, translated: Recipes, ideas, advice for the modern woman. Subtitle notwithstanding, this cookbook (purchased in 1995 in Padova, on clearance for something like $10) is one of my favorites. Practical cuisine, indeed; tasty dishes of varying complexity. The following measures were eyeballed all to hell.

Take five medium-sized zucchini. Wash them, trim the ends and lovingly cut into thin (3-5mm) circles. Set aside. Mince a good handful of fresh parsley, and set that aside too.

Heat up a large frying pan; a wok would work too, but probably not quite as well. In 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1-2 tablespoons of butter (no less than 3 tbsp of fats), fry up 3-5 cloves of sliced – not mashed – garlic, and a round slice of a Mayer lemon cut up in eighths like a tiny pie. Fry that until the garlic and lemon are done, then fish them out of the oil-and-butter and set them aside.

Toss in the zucchini and coat in the sauce. Cover and steam-fry for a minute or two, just to get them sweating. Take off the cover and toss in some salt, freshly ground pepper and a little of the parsley. Toss well and keep stirring occasionally until the zucchini are done to your liking. Don’t worry if they get mushy; keep frying them, and eventually they’ll turn this amazing crusty brown.

While waiting for the veggies to fry, cut another piece off the lemon and squeeze its juice into the cooked garlic and lemon. At the end, toss in that mixture and the rest of the parsley, and fry on high heat just until the parsley is heated through.

Eat as a side dish with your burger, or with anything really. Then, when it’s summer and parsley actually has a scent, cook this again and allow the green trance to overtake your kitchen.