Canned zucchini salad is an old Russian recipe using zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes. These 3 summer vegetables combined and spiced up with lots of garlic make a very delicious dish.
Served as a side dish with some baked potatoes, or whole-grain rice, it makes a real dinner.
Traditionally the peppers and tomatoes are sliced, but if you don’t like the tomato skin in the dish you can either peel them beforehand or finely chop the tomatoes.
This is very easily done in a Vitamix on low. I find the blender does a better job than a food processor. The zucchini can also be either peeled or not, depending on the variety and size of it. I also like to add some chopped parsley.
Variety-wise I use whatever is growing in our garden. Red, yellow, or orange peppers will work. Costata Romanesco zucchini is my favorite, but any other works too.
The canned zucchini salad recipe is very similar to canned zucchini tongue but still different enough that I like to make both for variety. And there are always lots of zucchini to work with, aren’t there!? Let’s get started:
- 1 kg (6 cups) diced zucchini
- 1.5 kg (7½ cups) tomato
- 4 big bell peppers
- 4-5 garlic cloves
- ½ cup sugar (Or ¼ cup honey)
- 1 tablespoon salt (1 teaspoon is enough)
- 1 tablespoon oil (optional)
- 1 cup 5% vinegar (See note)
- Wash and slice tomatoes and peppers
- Dice zucchini into ½-1 inch cubes.
- Cook tomatoes with sugar (or honey) and salt - cook for 10 minutes
- Add zucchini, peppers, and oil (if used) - cook for 10 minutes
- Add minced garlic, herbs if desired, and vinegar - cook for another 10 minutes.
- Ladle into sterilized jars
- Wipe rims, apply lids, and screw on bands
- Process in water canner for 20 minutes
Note: This is a traditional recipe with homegrown, sun-ripened ingredients, use and enjoy at your own risk. The original recipe is asking for 1 tablespoon 9% vinegar, I adjusted it to 1 cup 5%. It is up to you how much you use. You can find the original recipe: here.
I have also pressured canned this recipe without the vinegar. Pressure canned it is not a salad anymore, but a base to a yummy soup. Just add beans and maybe some corn and there you have a meal.
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Usually I’m buried in zucchini but with all the rain & cooler temperatures I’ve had they are just now flowering! A warming trend is starting so I might get a few. This looks delicious and the fact that I can pantry it and use it through winter is wonderful!
When you pressure can, what’s the pounds and time?
The pounds depends on your elevation, for time I used 20 minutes, like a tomato sauce.