With so many zucchini to eat now, it’s nice to have a dish that you can make to save for another day.  Jars of preserves are such a welcome site in the winter when the garden is dead, the leaves have fallen and all we have left of the hot summer are memories.  In Italy, the summer season is filled with activities for preserving the fruits and vegetables coming out of the garden, and stacks of canning jars and lids are front and center in every grocery and hardware store.

Zucchini relish was always my mom’s favorite preserve to make.  Somewhere she found a wonderful grating machine with a hand crank that reduces chunks of cheese or vegetables to beautifully shredded mounds almost instantly.  Mom was a night owl and would stay up late doing little tasks around the house or kitchen.  Her favorite time to can was when everyone had gone to bed and she had the quiet of the evening to herself.  In the summer, we would wake in the morning to rows of jars on the kitchen counter, filled with colorful shreds of zucchini and peppers, pickled peach halves or green tomato preserves.  After mom died and I inherited the miracle grater, I promised myself that I would make zucchini relish in the summer.

With this large basket of big zucchini sitting in the kitchen I realized no time like the present.  I grated the zucchini, onions and peppers early in the day and left them sitting on the kitchen counter for several hours, salted and sweating.  Last night, after I cleaned the kitchen from a dinner with friends, I dug out mom’s recipe and pulled out a big pot, just as she would.  Thirty minutes later I had three large jars filled with hot relish, waiting to greet me in the morning.

The relish is sweet and tangy with a nice crunch.  My favorite way to use it is in tuna salad, mixed with a little celery and some mayonnaise.  It’s also good on a roasted pork sandwich or a cheese burger.  The best part is when you open a jar and remember that bumper crop of zucchini that you were able to put to good use!

Zucchini Relish
10 cups zucchini, grated
2 red bell peppers, grated
2 onions, grated
Sea salt
5 cups Cider vinegar
4 cups sugar
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp pickling spce
Grate all the vegetables, salt them well and leave them to sit for at least 3 hours. Rinse and drain well. Place the vinegar, sugar and spices in a large pot and bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes, then strain out the whole spices. Add the zucchini, stir and bring to a boil. Simmer for one minute.
Place the relish in large, clean canning jars and screw the lids on tight. The seal will form a vacuum as it cools.