I stopped into my favorite little side of the road Amish food stand recently. It’s only around in the summer, so I treasure and prioritize it as a first stop when it comes to produce shopping! They had all kinds of summer magic — heirloom tomatoes, banana peppers, the biggest okra, watermelon, potatoes, and then I saw it. The ZUCCHINI! They were gorgeous and bright green, perfectly straight and with no blemishes. It made me want to celebrate them, which my typical is to hide them so, a pleasant change of pace. I quartered the zucchini lengthwise, threw them on the grill, and then accentuated their smoky grilled goodness. Goat cheese, honey, red onion, cilantro, and a charred lemon half to squeeze over everything right before you eat it. That was the whole plan, and OMG, did it turn out fantastic!
The move here is quartering instead of the usual thin planks. You get more surface area for char, but the middle stays firm enough that you’re not eating zucchini mush, which is an actual risk with this vegetable and the reason a lot of people default to roasting it into oblivion. Toss the spears in oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then get them on a hot grill and leave them alone for a few minutes so the char actually happens instead of just steaming in place.
While the zucchini is going, throw a couple lemon halves on the grill too, cut-side down. This is not optional, or at least it shouldn’t be! Charred lemon loses some of its raw bite and picks up this smoky thing that a fresh squeeze doesn’t give you. Squeeze it over the whole platter right before serving, not during cooking, so it stays bright instead of just melting into everything else.
Once the zucchini’s off the grill, pile it up and go heavy on the toppings. Crumbled goat cheese, a scatter of diced red onion (which I also happened to pick up at the Amish stand!), cilantro, and a drizzle of honey over the top. The honey against the char and the tang of the goat cheese is doing most of the work here, sweet and savory sitting right next to each other instead of picking a lane. And when is salty – smokey – sweet not an excellent combo?
Serve it warm, right off the platter, with the charred lemon on the side so everyone can hit their own plate with it. You will love it! Made this? Tag @herbyeater on TikTok or Instagram so I can see!
Grilled Zucchini with Goat Cheese, Honey, and Charred Lemon
Equipment
- Grill or grill pan
- Tongs
- Mixing bowl
- Cutting board and knife
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchini about 2 lbs / 900g, quartered lengthwise
- 2 tbsp olive oil 30ml
- 1 tsp kosher salt 5g
- 1/2 tsp black pepper 2g
- 1 tsp garlic powder 3g
- 2 lemons halved
- 4 oz goat cheese crumbled (115g)
- 2 tbsp honey 45g, for drizzling!
- 1/4 cup red onion finely diced (30g)
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped (10g)
Instructions
- Preheat your grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.
- Quarter each zucchini lengthwise into long spears.
- In a large bowl, toss the zucchini spears with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder until evenly coated.
- Place the zucchini on the grill cut-side down. Grill for 4–5 minutes per side, turning as needed, until deep char marks form and the zucchini is tender but still holds its shape.
- In the last few minutes of grilling, place the lemon halves cut-side down on the grill until charred, about 2–3 minutes.
- Arrange the grilled zucchini on a platter. Scatter crumbled goat cheese, diced red onion, and cilantro over the top.
- Drizzle with honey. Plate the charred lemon halves alongside for squeezing just before serving.