Continuing my quest for great recipes from those I’ve saved on Pinterest, I found Grilled Zucchini Pizza Slices which tastes yummy with Zucchini as the “crust” even if you are not on a gluten-free diet. My other successful find was a recipe for Zucchini Bread. So many of those on Pinterest, so I read through several and settled on one which I changed up a bit and I must confess, it is absolutely delicious.
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GRILLED ZUCCHINI PIZZA SLICES
Go to Kalyn’s Kitchen for the recipe
*Instead of canned or bottled pizza sauce, I make my own. I simmer tomato paste with water to thin it to the consistency I wanted, then added (fresh/dried) herbs.
Try this or vary herbs according to your tastes:
- 3 ounces tomato paste
- 3 ounces water
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- light shake of garlic powder (my stomach reacts badly to fresh garlic)
- a tiny pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- pinch of salt (optional).
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to simmer, lower heat and let cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until reaches desired consistency.
*Use 3 times as much fresh herbs as dried. For example, if you usually add 1 teaspoon of dried oregano to a recipe, add three teaspoons of fresh.
*This time I used veggie pepperoni and Six Cheese Shredded Italian.
*Grilled Zucchini Pizza Slices can be made on a grill. Since I don't have an outdoor grill, I used a George Foreman tabletop grill for the initial grilling of 3/4-inch zucchini slices brushed with EVOO. After adding toppings, I put them under the oven broiler for few minutes.
*Very large zucchini (not uncommon in home gardens) work best. However, if want to serve as appetizers, go for the smaller ones, approximately 1-1/2 inches in diameter.
CHOCOLATE CHIP-WALNUT ZUCCHINI BREAD
(based on a recipe from Savoring Life with Anna Costa)
Ingredients...
1 cup all-purpose white flour
1/2-cup whole wheat flour
1/2-teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2-teaspoon baking soda
1/2-teaspoon salt
1/4-teaspoon baking powder
1/4-teaspoon nutmeg (even better when you grate your own from whole nutmegs)
1 beaten egg
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup grated zucchini, unpeeled (do not squeeze out excess liquid)
1/4-cup cooking oil
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4-cup chopped walnuts
Directions...
1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit. Grease bottoms and sides of a loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flours, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder and nutmeg.
3. In another bowl, combine egg, sugar, zucchini and oil.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
5. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.
6. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
7. Bake 50-60 minutes, until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. You may see melted chocolate on the pick. As long as there is no batter, the bread is done.
8. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.
9. Wrap securely and store in refrigerator.
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Zucchini is such a versatile ingredient, definitely one of the favourites my friend :D
ReplyDeleteI love that you put your stock to such good use firstly for dinner and then dessert too :)
Although I love the idea of zucchini pizzas, I think I would be eating half the chocolate chip loaf ;)
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Just so you know, m'dear, you can eat chocolate AND eat healthy. Right?! Always good to hear from you, CCU.
DeleteI love the zucchini pizzas, especially as appetizers! The bread sounds almost sinful, but I will make it anyway. I have not grown zucchini ... but my uncle would tell me that he would watch his zucchini grow about 6 inches everyday ... but he was a story teller.
ReplyDeleteDon't pick on your uncle. He's probably being truthful (wink, wink!). Zucchini grows quickly. I remember when my daughter was 4 or 5 and a neighbor brought over tiny zucchini after I told him I thought smaller was better. My daughter grabbed one out of his hand and ate it raw. I think the zucchini pizzas as appetizers would surprise people who think they are sick of so much zucchini. Thanks for commenting!
Deleteo.m.g. I am SOO jealous of this dish!! It looks heavenly!
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing you are referring to the zucchini pizza slices rather than the bread 'cause I think the "pizzas" look so-o good myself. I just looked at your blog and your pictures are wonderful... I'll be back. Thanks for stopping by, love2dine.
DeleteI am still yet to make anything sweet with zucchini, which is definitely something I wish to change sooner rather than later! So that bread is very much calling my name...!
ReplyDeleteSo many possibilities for sweet breads and zucchini is a popular one for using up excessive crops. Anyone who is sick of zucchini and even the breads will definitely appreciate this version. Always glad to hear from you, CCU.
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