Fruit & Nut Pistachio~Zucchini Bread

I remember very well helping my grandfather plant the vegetable garden that he would share with us.  In fact, he once told me, "you're the only one, other than me, that I will allow to use the rototiller."  Yes, I loved gardening even then, but moreover, he said, "it's because you can till a straight line!"

The first time I planted zucchini I learned it was a different technique; making mounds that I would poke my finger in, about 1-inch, and place 3-4 seeds in each one.  As my grandfather taught me, it was "insurance" that each mound had a plant come up. However, emotionally it was very hard to pull 2 or 3 plants out of the mound and toss them when they all came up!

Zucchini (or as it's known in Europe, Courgette) is a summer squash, usually dark or light green, although there is also a hybrid golden yellow variety.  Most people think of squash as a vegetable, but it is indeed a fruit, which has both female (the blossom) and male (where the petiole meets the stem) in the leaf axis.  The plants can be abundant with fruit and most of us wonder how many dishes we can make.  It's low in calories and has useful amounts of foliate, potassium and Vitamin A.    I think I've come up with some pretty good recipes: breads, pickles, cakes, muffins, breaded, soups...etc!  I once sent my sister a pile of recipes when she found she was knee-deep in zucchini from the garden:-)

Today, I made a lovely bread and pumped up the "green" with Pistachio Flour and finely chopped pistachios.

Pistachios are an excellent source of healthy fats, fiber and iron and particularly replacing some of the all-purpose flour with this nut flour, cuts down on the carbohydrates we are all trying to watch.  I also added some dried fruits to make this a wholesome bread to start the day or have as a snack with your afternoon tea or coffee.

Fruit & Nut Pistachio~Zucchini Bread
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable (or canola) oil
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 T Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. Almond extract
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
2 medium zucchinis, grated

1 cup Pistachio flour
3/4 cup sour cream
1 cup finely chopped pistachio nuts
1 cup of dried fruit (I used 1/2 cup chopped dates and 1/2 cup Peach Jammy Bits ) 

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Spray two loaf pans (9" x 4") with cooking spray or greased with shortening.

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter, oil, and sugar together.  While the mixer is running on low, add the eggs, one at a time.  Turn mixer speed up to medium and continue to mix until fluffy.

Add the extracts and mix once more.  Remove the bowl from the stand and add the dry ingredients, dried fruit, chopped nuts, and sour cream.  Stir with a rubber spatula to combine everything.

Divide the batter between the two loaf pans.  Place in the preheated oven and bake for 55-60 minutes or until tester comes out cleanly.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool 7-10 minutes before turning them out onto a cutting board.
A lovely slice of bread was well worth waiting for to start the day.  
This is a healthy recipe to add to your collection of zucchini recipes--check out some of my past recipes on the blog.  Enjoy!

It's National Zucchini Day - Celebrate!

Yes,  August 8th is a day dedicated to the Zucchini ~ botanically it is a fruit, but in a culinary context, it is treated as a vegetable and served as a savory dish or an accompaniment. 

My sister and I were talking the other day of the zucchini patch our grandfather had.  Many times, I helped plant the seeds for him, pushing 3 to 4 seeds into each mound and looking forward to seeing those beautiful sprawling plants with big yellow blooms spring up.  We ate a lot of zucchini growing up and preserved a lot of pickles as well.  This day brought back memories of cooking in my mother's kitchen, deciding on a dish to include this wonderful vegetable from the garden for our meals.

Today, I went a little crazy and will show you three ways, starting with a cupcake for dessert.  I decided to add zucchini to one of my favorite desserts, English Sticky Toffee Pudding.  It's a cake that has some caramel sauce poured over it when nearly done, thus becoming the "sticky" part with additional caramel sauce drizzled over it and a dollop of whip cream. It was invented by a hotel operator by the name of Francis Coulson of the Sharrow Bay Country House in Cumbria, England.  I also did a side dish called Torta di Risotto from one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks~ New Vegetarian by Celia Brooks Brown and an appetizer of crispy zucchini sticks, baked in the oven instead of frying, to show off its versatility.

Zucchini Sticky Toffee Pudding Cupcakes
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in pieces and softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped dried dates
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 cups grated zucchini (approximately 2 medium zucchinis)

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Line muffin pans with paper liners.

To begin, add boiling water to the dried dates.  Add the one teaspoon of baking soda to the mixture and set aside.

Grate two zucchinis into a colander in case any liquid oozes from it.

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the vanilla and beat again.

Add the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder and salt and pour the date mixture over it.  Beat on medium one minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl, then, beat one minute more.

Add the grated zucchini and mix just until combined.

Scoop the batter into 18 muffin openings.

Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes; until golden brown and when lightly touched, springs back.

 Let cool completely before proceeding to the filling and frosting.
Since typically Sticky Toffee Pudding has a caramel sauce, I used some of the remaining caramel I had made for the Cinnamon Sticky Bun Cake.  You can also use a store bought version.

Use an apple corer to create a "well" for the caramel

Pipe in the caramel, then place the cupcake "plug" over the hole before frosting

Caramel Buttercream
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) at room temperature
2 T meringue powder
5 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup homemade caramel (or you can use a store bought)
3 to 4 T milk

In a stand mixer, cream the butter until fluffy.  Add the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder and blend (mixture will be stiff).  Add the caramel and 3 tablespoons of milk and beat to combine.  If needed, add an additional tablespoon of milk to give a light a fluffy frosting.

Pipe on the cupcakes.

To decorate, I added some edible pearls...in honor of the Queen, of course!

Next, was my side dish...

Torta di Risotto 
1 cup arborio risotto rice
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 oz. Fontina cheese, cut into 1/4 cubes
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

The 3 cheeses: Mozzarella, Fontina & Parmesan

 Add the rice to a saucepan with about 4 cups of boiling water and let simmer 10 minutes until the rice is tender, but still firm (al dente).  Drain.

1 zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch long slices (I used my mandolin)

Brush slices with olive oil and place on a hot grill pan to sear.

Brush the top side with additional olive oil and when the grill marks show on the cook side, turn over the slices, using tongs.  Repeat grill marks and then remove.

3 to 4 T Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz. canned chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. dark brown sugar
1 tsp. dried basil or 1/4 cup of fresh basil torn or coarsely chopped

Heat the olive oil.  Add the minced garlic, then, the canned chopped tomatoes.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly.  Stir in the basil.

Add the rice and cheese and stir to mix well.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble:

Oil a 9" x 5" loaf pan.  Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs on the bottom.  

Spoon in half of the rice mixture and smooth flat.  Layer the zucchini (corgettes) in a single layer over the rice.

 Spoon remaining rice mixture over the zucchini, then sprinkle with another 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs.

At this point, you could wrap the mixture with aluminum foil and refrigerate and cooked later.
Preheat oven to 425F-degrees and bake for 30 to 40 minutes.  Run a long-bladed knife around the edges, then turn our onto a serving platter.  Cut the torta into slices and serve.

Finally, I did an appetizer...

Breaded Zucchini Spears with Lemon/Chive Dipping Sauce

Preheat oven to 425F-degrees.  Once the oven has come up to temperature, heat a baking sheet with 4 tablespoons of olive oil.  Prepare zucchini.

2 zucchini (washed and ends trimmed)
1/2 cups King Arthur flour
salt and pepper
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs mixed with 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs

Cut the zucchini in half horizontally, then, cut each section into thirds and each of those sections into half--you should get 12 spears from each zucchini.

Divide the flour with salt & pepper, eggs, and bread crumb mixture into 3 dishes.

To begin: Roll the zucchini spears in the seasoned flour, then into the beaten eggs, and finally roll in the bread crumbs.  Open the oven and place the spears on the heated baking sheet.

Bake in the oven, turning once about 15 minutes or until brown and crispy.

Lemon-Chive Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
juice of one half lemon
1/4 cup finely chopped chives

Mix all ingredients together and get refrigerated until ready to use.

So, there you have my tribute to a vegetable that was a big part of my life growing up and remains so today--Happy Zucchini Day.  Enjoy!

 
 

Turkish Zucchini Fritters

I am a collector of recipes and not only do I have over a thousand cookbooks, (yes, that many!) I tear out recipes from newspapers and magazines, then, categorize them into the appropriate notebooks.    This recipe, which uses zucchini, caught my eye yesterday as I was perusing through the Pacific Northwest magazine in our Sunday newspaper.

I remember the first time I helped my grandparents plant zucchini in the garden.  They had me make mounds down the rows, then, plant 3-4 seeds in each one.  My Grandfather said, "that's to make sure we get at least one plant coming up."  However, more times than not, we had to pull up the extra seedlings.  Anyway, can you imagine how many zucchinis a fifty-yard row yields?  A LOT!  We had zucchini sauteed with onions, stuffed, pickled, and baked into many, many loaves of bread.  Over the years, I've become somewhat obsessed when I find a zucchini recipe and save it for when the abundant season comes my way.

I no longer have a vegetable garden, but do have access to the Farmer's Market and can load up on these dark green gems during the summer.  This recipe has the addition of crumbled feta cheese (a typical cheese from the Mediterranean area) along with some herbs, which was different from the the previous recipes I have for Zucchini Fritters and/or Pancakes.  If it's any indication of how they tasted, my DH said, "best fritters ever!!"

Turkish Zucchini Fritters (Mucver)

For Fritters:

1 1/2 pounds zucchini (about 4 medium) grated

Salt to taste

3 eggs

1/4 cup finely chopped herbs (flat-leaf parsley, dill, mint)

1 bunch green onions, white and light green parts, finely chopped

1 T paprika

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup olive oil or as needed for frying

Place grated zucchini in a colander.  Sprinkle generously with salt and let sit for 10 minutes to draw out the water.  

Squeeze handfuls of the zucchini to extract as much liquid as possible.

Place the drained zucchini in a large bowl and mix in the eggs, herbs, onions, paprika and pepper until well combined.  Add the flour and stir until just incorporated, then, stir in the feta cheese.

Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Drop generous spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil, making sure the fritters don't touch.  Flatten them slightly so they're about 1/2-inch thick and fry them until golden brown on each side, 4 to 5 minutes.  Drain on paper towels and repeat until all the batter is used.  Serve hot, topped with the yogurt sauce.

Yogurt Sauce:

2 cups plain yogurt

2 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed to a paste

Salt to taste

Blend the yogurt and garlic and salt to taste.  Cover and refrigerate at least 15 minutes for the flavors to blend.

These fritters are a wonderful addition to the many recipes I have using zucchini.  And, along with fresh corn on the cob, our summer dinner was perfect.   Thanks to Melissa Kronenthal, a freelance food writer and photographer, for this recipe that is a "keeper."  Enjoy!