By late June the Tuesday market has settled into its own rhythm. The same people, the same order, the same quiet acknowledgment at each table from someone who has been coming long enough to know the drill. The heat by eleven is serious. When the wind picks up, it moves the air without changing what the air is.
That Tuesday I stopped at the squash table longer than usual. The woman there keeps a garden that starts where the property line ends and continues past any reasonable interpretation of it. She had three zucchini left and was already boxing her things. She said something I did not catch.
I took them.
The squash were large. Past the tender stage where doing very little is enough. For summer squash at that size the answer is more heat and something assertive enough to hold its own in the pan. Anchovy dissolved in olive oil with garlic is that answer. It does not taste like anchovy in the end, or not exactly. It tastes like the squash always had that depth in it.
Serves 3 to 4.
2 large zucchini or summer squash, about 1.5 pounds total, cut into half-inch rounds 4 to 5 anchovy fillets packed in oil 3 tablespoons olive oil 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced Red pepper flakes A handful of flat-leaf parsley or basil, roughly chopped Salt
A wide pan over medium heat. The olive oil goes in, then the anchovy fillets. They will dissolve into the oil as the pan heats.
Garlic follows. Low heat. It should turn soft and mild, not sharp. Two minutes.
The zucchini rounds go in. Salt them lightly. The heat goes to medium-high. Leave them without moving until the undersides are brown, three to four minutes. Then turn them.
A pinch of red pepper. Two to three more minutes. The squash should be tender all the way through.
Off the heat. Herbs in. Taste for salt. The anchovy has done some of that work already.
Good with bread underneath, or not.