Zucchini with Pumpkin Blossom Cream Sauce and Tomatoes

One of the benefits of having a vegetable garden is creating recipe mashups with what is available. I have lots of zucchini, tomatoes, and basil every year, but this year I made room for a pumpkin patch. It is getting late in the season, and I really want the plant to focus on the fruit it already has, so I am harvesting the blossoms. The pumpkin blossom sauce may be the best thing I have ever eaten. This made enough for 2 large main-dish servings.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 0.5 small onion, minced
• 20 flowers green tomatoes, cored and chopped
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 pinch salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 0.5 small onion, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, quartered and thinly sliced
• 2 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 8 leaves fresh basil, thinly sliced

Steps

1. Melt butter with olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add minced onion; cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add pumpkin blossoms and cook until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Transfer contents to a blender, add cream, and blend until smooth. Season with salt and set aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a clean pan over medium heat. Cook sliced onion and zucchini until soft but not browned or sloppy, about 5 minutes.
3. Divide zucchini between 2 dinner plates or pasta bowls and top with pumpkin sauce, fresh tomatoes, and basil.