Skillet Zucchini with Vegetables

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make skillet zucchini with vegetables? Start by gathering your ingredients. Go for young, small zucchini if you can — larger ones will work too, but young ones taste better. Instead of cherry tomatoes, you can use one large tomato. Wash all the vegetables well, pat them dry, and peel them as needed before cutting.

2. Step 2:

   

   Peel the zucchini if it's no longer young. Young zucchini can be cooked with the skin on. A vegetable peeler makes this easy, since it takes off only a very thin layer. Then cut the zucchini up. I dice it, but some people like to cut it into strips — that's not important, just a matter of preference.

3. Step 3:

   

   Chop the onion — diced or in half-rings, whatever you prefer. Grate the carrot on the coarse side of a box grater. I don't recommend cutting the carrot into large pieces; it takes the longest to cook of all the vegetables and can stay underdone if the pieces are big.

4. Step 4:

   

   Cut the bell pepper into strips and the tomatoes into small wedges. If you're using a regular tomato, it's best to peel it first: score an X on top, drop it into boiling water for a minute, then transfer it straight to cold water. The skin will slip off easily along the cuts. Then dice the large tomato small.

5. Step 5:

   

   Mince the herbs and garlic too. Use whatever fresh herbs you like — I'm using parsley.

6. Step 6:

   

   Set a skillet over low heat and let it warm up. Pour in the vegetable oil. Add the onion and carrot first. Sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the onion turns translucent and the carrot softens.

7. Step 7:

   

   Next, add the zucchini and bell pepper to the pan.

8. Step 8:

   

   Then add the tomato, or cherry tomatoes like I'm using. Season with salt and pepper and stir. The salt draws moisture out of the zucchini quickly, so there's no need to add any water.

9. Step 9:

   

   Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for about five minutes.

10. Step 10:

    

    Next, stir in the garlic and herbs, and taste for salt and seasoning.

11. Step 11:

    

    Cover the pan once more and lower the heat, letting the vegetables soak up each other's flavors and finish cooking. Watch the zucchini — as soon as it's tender, turn off the heat. Remember that young zucchini cooks faster than older ones, so don't overdo it or it'll turn to mush. And that's it — your dish is ready. Enjoy!