In terms of flavour, the humble zucchini or courgette is a little bit bland and doesn’t have a distinctive flavour and it’s this blandness which makes it super versatile. It takes on the taste of whatever you cook it with, and that makes it perfect in both savoury and sweet. One of my favourite ways of cooking zucchini is the following Baked Zucchini Slice.

The Zucchini Slice is the one you make if you are craving the taste of zucchini fritters (another favourite at ours) but don’t want to fritter time away in front of a cooktop. So easy to make, you just mix everything together, bake it in the oven and in less than an hour you have yourself one delicious lunch. And if there’s any leftovers, it’s just as delicious the next day. It’s wonderful as a light meal with salad and a crusty bread, or as a side dish to a more substantial meal. And perfect to bring to a picnic!

What you need..

Zucchini- Choose firm small to medium sized zucchinis.
Pantry/Fridge Staples – Self Raising Flour,Onion, cheddar cheese, vegetable oil,eggs, finely chopped herbs of your choice, minced garlic ,stock cube powder(like Vegeta), salt and pepper to taste.
Baking tin – square 21x21cm or rectangle 21cmx26 or a round cake tin 21 cm diameter

How to make this Baked Zucchini Slice..

Use a fine grater to grate the zucchinis and place it in a large bowl. Finely dice the onion and add it to the mix.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together.
Place batter into a baking tin , lined with baking paper and sprayed with cooking oil.
Bake in a preheated 160°C (fan forced or 180°C) for about 60 minutes or until golden.
Set aside to firm up for 5 minutes and cut into squares and serve warm or cold.

Options & More…

Add the kernels from one corn cob, or 1x 125g can of corn kernels,drained.
Substitute 1 zucchini for 1 carrot,grated.
Mix thru 4 rashers of rindless bacon, finely diced ;omit salt as bacon is already salty
Instead of cheddar cheese, use a mixture of cheeses. I sometimes use odds and ends of leftover cheeses and its absolutely delicious.
A handful of chopped ham added to the batter is also a great option.
Another add in, is shredded cooked leftover chicken, about a cup.
Sprinkle crumbled fetta on top before baking. Omit salt as fetta is already salty.
A varietry of herbs can be added to the batter before baking. Such as dill, mixed italian herbs , or any herb combination of your choice. My go to, is chopped garlic chives because I have it in my herb garden.
Bake in mini muffin tins, cooking time 10 minutes and makes a great do ahead finger food.
Serve with a garden salad and a side of yoghurt and sweet chilli dipping sauce.