The pickled zucchini they are a kind of time machine that allows you to bring the flavors of summer to the winter tables. Between June, July and August, in fact, there is a great abundance of this vegetable. To avoid unnecessary waste, as well as stuffed courgettes, as a pasta dressing, fried or stapled, another way to use and store them for a long time is to put them in oil. Preparation is simple, just have a few hours available. The important thing, however, is to follow a couple of precautions to make sure that the jars arrive safely until the beginning of October and November.

Step 1: preparation of the glass jars

When dealing with any preserves in oil, you have to be very careful about Botox, a bacterium that can contaminate food making it dangerous for human health. To prevent it from forming, it is essential best sterilize the glass jars. First wash both the jars and the caps (preferably new) by hand with detergent or in the dishwasher. Place a clean cotton cloth on the bottom of a pot, lay the containers on it, cover with water and bring it to the boil. Lower the flame and after half an hour put out the fire. Another trick to avoid the occurrence of the botulinum is the vacuum. Once filled and closed tightly, the jars should be placed upside down. To understand if the vacuum effect has been created, press lightly on the lid to hear the "click clack". One last tip is to use small potsin this way, once opened, it will be easier to consume the content quickly.

Step 2: preparation of courgettes in oil

Once the jars are ready, you can proceed with the preparation of courgettes in oil. The ingredients are: a kilo of courgettes, 750 ml of extra virgin olive oil, 500 ml of natural water, 300 ml of White vinegar, two spoons of coarse salt, two cloves of garlic, pepper in grains, fresh mint, salt up and a chili pepper. Wash the courgettes and cut them into strips or rounds. Arrange them in a colander, sprinkle with coarse salt. Place a dish with a weight on it and let it rest for two or three hours, so that they lose the vegetation water. Then rinse them and put them to dry on a clean cotton cloth. In a saucepan, pour the water and the vinegar, add a pinch of salt and boil. Soak the courgettes in this liquid for three to four minutes, so as to scald them. Drain them with a slotted spoon and let them dry and cool, placing them on another dish towel. Wash the mint leaves and sear these together with the garlic.

Step 3: it's time to pot

When the courgettes are dry, arrange them in the jars, flavoring each layer with a little chopped garlic, chilli pepper and a few mint leaves. Don't get to the edge of the jar, but leave the space of a finger. Press the courgettes well to prevent air bubbles from forming and pour the oil over them, completely covering the contents. Close the jars and put them in the pantry, allowing a few months to pass before reopening them to bring out the scent of summer again.