7 Ways With Zucchini

Summer brings bumper crops of zucchini, but it's often a challenge to use up the bounty. The good news: this nutrient-rich, low-cal veggie (only 10 calories per half cup) can add flavor and pizzaz to more foods that you expect, everything from soups to yeast breads and even chocolate cake.

Hot or cold, this easy soup is a refreshing start for any meal. If you go the cold route, consider pairing it with a chilled pasta salad or a chicken Caesar salad. Serving it hot?  Try dishing it up before a simple supper of roasted chicken or pork.Recipe: Zucchini-Buttermilk Soup With Watercress Pesto

A light vegetarian-style brunch or supper, these crispy pancakes combine buttery Yukon gold potatoes with grated zucchini, onion, egg substitute, matzo meal, and spices. A tart cherry tomato salad topping adds flavor and texture contrast and makes the meal more substantial.Recipe: Potato-Zucchini Skillet Pancakes With Cherry Tomato Salad

The sauce for this fast weeknight supper is pure comfort food, a simple mixture of grated Parmesan, sautéed zucchini, butter, and olive oil. If you can't find long fusilli noodles, substitute short fusilli or any curly shaped noodle that the cheese can cling to easily.Recipe: Zucchini Fusilli

Go wild and grate that extra garden zucchini into a spicy, savory yeast bread that's laced with toasted cumin seeds, chili, and pistachios. While the recipe calls for making a yeast-flour starter that ferments for 24 hours, there's a quick and easy shortcut on the recipe page to bypass the wait.Recipe: Zucchini Bread With Moroccan Spices

Tart Granny Smith and sweet Red Delicious apples pair with cucumber, green pepper and sliced zucchini to make a crisp, crunchy salad that's perfect for hot weather. Grab a bottle and shake up a quick dressing of oil, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar and dried basil and your salad is served.Recipe: Apple and Zucchini Salad

Melted chocolate and chopped pecans lend a rich flavor to this easy recipe for bundt cake, but it's the three cups of grated zucchini that keep it moist and help make your chocolate indulgence a notch more healthful. A standout at parties and potlucks, the cake also freezes well.Recipe: Chocolate-Zucchini Cake

Let your taste buds travel to the Mediterranean coast of North Africa for a bold Tunisian-style appetizer that combines cooked mashed zucchini with feta cheese, olive oil, lemon and a host of flavorful spices. Serve with pita bread or toasted pita chips.Recipe: Ajlouk Qura'a (Mashed-Zucchini Salad)