Zucchini recipes to the rescue

Recipes

• Zucchini Bread
• Grilled Ratatouille
• Garden Harvest Jambalaya
• Chef Paul Bertolli's Zucchini Carpaccio

Put up your zukes "The trouble with cooking begins when you decide to take it seriously," writes renowned Italian chef Paul Bertolli, a partner in Oakland, California's Oliveto Cafe & Restaurant, in his new book, Cooking by Hand.

It's a personal and compelling case for taking pleasure in the best simple food, and in the effort required to prepare it, whether a lot ― building flavor bit by bit from the bottom of the pot up for an Italian meat broth ― or a little, such as preparing his zucchini carpaccio (pictured here / recipe link provided above). 5655 College Ave.; (510) 547-0835. Cooking by Hand: Clarkson Potter, New York; $40; (212) 572-2537. ― Sara Schneider