Savoury Zucchini Bread

All Winter I have been experimenting with a recipe for a savoury zucchini bread.

Tonight, I finally put the finishing touches to the recipe.

Hubby and I enjoy our pumpkin bread but, seeking a change, I dredged up the idea of zucchini bread from the depths of my memory. I'd never tasted zucchini bread but I must have seen or heard about it somewhere. I was surprised when a search on the internet revealed that zucchini bread is usually a sweet bread—not exactly what I had in mind. So, I adapted the Tung in Cheek and 101 Cookbooks zucchini bread recipes and the pumpkin bread recipe to develop my own savoury zucchini bread.

Serves 6-8

Times

Preparation:

15-20 minutes

Cooking:

40-50 minutes

Ingredients

• 2-3 (approximately 250g) zucchini, grated
• 1 small/medium onion, finely diced (approximately ½ cup of diced onion)
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 tspn garam marsala
• 1 tspn mustard seeds
• 1 tspn cumin seeds
• 1 tspn tumeric powder
• ¼ cup low-fat cottage cheese
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 40g butter, melted
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Optional:

• 1 Tbs or 20g parmesan cheese, grated
• Extra cumin seeds

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced.
2. Line base and two long ends of a 9cm-deep, 9cm x 19cm (base) loaf pan with baking paper.
3. Place the grated zucchini, onion, garlic, garam marsala, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, tumeric powder, and cottage cheese in a bowl and mix.
4. Sift the self-raising flour and add it to the bowl. Mix the ingredients through the flour.
5. Add the butter and eggs. Mix thoroughly to ensure there are no lumps of flour.
   

   The mixture forms a sticky dough that will come away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. If the dough seems too dry or floury, add a little water.

6. Spoon mixture into prepared pan.
7. Using a spatula, level top and optionally sprinkle over grated parmesan cheese and cumin seeds.
8. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out clean.
9. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Lift out onto a wire rack to cool.

Tip

Freeze portions for future meals. When required, microwave on high for 1-1½ minutes.