Harvest-Time Meatballs

This skillet supper leans on late-summer garden haul to stretch a basic meatball recipe into something that feels like a meal worth sitting down for. Thin-sliced zucchini and mushrooms soften in butter with garlic and thyme, then precooked meatballs drop in to warm through while the vegetables finish tender.

The trick here is layering. Start the zucchini and mushrooms first so they pick up the thyme and garlic directly from the fat, then add the meatballs only after the vegetables have softened.

Tomato wedges go in last and only long enough to heat through, two or three minutes under a lid. Any longer and they collapse into sauce instead of holding their shape alongside the meatballs and zucchini.

Grated Parmesan scattered over the top melts slightly from residual heat and pulls everything together.

Kitchen Tips

• Slice the zucchini no thicker than ⅛ inch so it softens in the same time the mushrooms take to brown. Thick coins stay crunchy while mushrooms go past.
• Don’t skip the lid at the end. Trapped steam finishes the tomatoes and lets the cheese melt without drying the vegetables.
• Use day-old or frozen-and-thawed meatballs. Fresh-from-the-pan meatballs fall apart in the simmer.
• Hit with a squeeze of lemon at the table if the tomatoes taste flat. Late-season tomatoes sometimes need the lift.

Variations

• Swap zucchini for yellow summer squash or a mix of both for color.
• Use Italian sausage balls in place of traditional meatballs for a spicier, fattier pan.
• Stir in a handful of fresh basil ribbons at the table for an herby, summery finish.