Googootz (cucuzza) is an Italian vegetable stew similar to Giambotta. If you get a few Italian cooks in a room, you will hear it referred to in multiple ways. For example, what my mother and grandmother called “googootz” was really more like Ciambotta, without the eggplant. In those days, after a lively argument, if they agreed upon a name, they debated the ingredients. My job was to sit still and watch the show. It was delightful! I will forever call it “googootz” and that’s that.

The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter whether you call it Cucuzza, Googootz, or Ciambotta, it is a simple stew of fresh summer vegetables. Italians typically grow tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, potatoes, and peppers (sweet and hot) in their summer gardens. How can you lose with those ingredients? Throw in some egg and Pecorino Romano cheese and you will think you have gone to heaven!

Googootz, derived from the name cucuzza, is also known as zucchina serpente or zucchina lunga. Serpente means snakelike while lunga means long which describes cucuzza perfectly. In our vegetable stew recipe we use zucchini, which, in my view, hold up better than the more delicate cucuzza.

Ingredients

Serves 4

8-10 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled

6-10 Melrose Peppers or 1 large green pepper, roughly diced

12 ounces of zucchini (1 medium to large), roughly diced

1/4 c olive oil

1 6 oz can of tomato paste

water, to cover vegetables

2 tablespoons oregano

1-2 tablespoon salt, to taste

1 teaspoon of black pepper

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

01 Prep

Assemble and prepare your ingredients.

Peel and chop potatoes into bite sized chunks.

Core and seed peppers. Chop into bite sized chunks.

Similarly, Remove stem from zucchini and chop into bite sized chunks.

02 Sauté

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan (medium heat)

Add potatoes and cook for five minutes, stirring frequently to avoid sticking to the pan

Add in the peppers and continue to cook 10-15 minutes. Again, stir to avoid sticking. If oil becomes absorbed, add in a little more and continue to cook.

In a separate sauté pan, heat oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add in zucchini. Cook 5-10 minutes.

03 Stew

Turn off the heat and add the sautéed vegetables, from both pans, to a 3 1/2-4 quart stock pot

Add enough water to cover the vegetables

Add salt to taste

Sprinkle in oregano

Add tomato paste

Cook the sauce on medium heat for 20-30 minutes until vegetables are tender and tomato paste is fully integrated.

04 The Dramatic Finish

In a small bowl, beat two eggs

Sprinkle in 1/2 of the cheese and continue to beat

Add in remaining cheese and continue to stir until slightly thickened

Pour the egg and cheese mixture into the stew and mix thoroughly. Make so stir quickly or the eggs will begin to scramble. The mixture will take on a lighter red, grainy texture from the hard cheese.

Serve in a soup bowl with some crusty bread or toasted ciabatta.

So rich with Italian flavors, this Italian vegetable stew is enhanced by the addition of the egg and Pecorino Romano cheese. While vegetables are plentiful in our local grocery stores all year, we wait for the fresh fruits of the season to make this a much anticipated summer dish. I recommend you head straight out to the garden or your local fresh market and get busy! It is harvest time. Enjoy it while it lasts!

On the rare occasion you have left over Italian vegetable stew, it can be served for breakfast or lunch the next day by adding some eggs. Heat the levtover stew in a small sauté pan. When heated through, crack two eggs into the mix. Cover and let stew for 5-10 minutes checking the eggs frequently for doneness. Be careful! This is habit forming! Enjoy!