Using your abundance

ZUCCHINI!  Yeah its that time of year.  That little green summer squash is becoming prolific and we love it!

A while back I posted about making a Zucchini based pizza crust and thought I would share the recipe again here.  Something Bear and I have done together.  This was something she actually ate without any sideways looks.... 

What do you do when you have a bushel of ZUCCHINI? Well one thing you can do is MAKE PIZZA!  Yes, I made a  pizza crust out of grated zucchini, and I will add that it was a hit with the family. Very filling and a great meal. The recipe is from my Moosewood Cookbook. If you are ever looking for a vegetarian cookbook, check it out!

Anyway, here ya go!

Zucchini Pizza Crust

Print Here
Crust Ingredients:
olive oil and flour for the pan
2 cups (packed) grated zucchini --about 2 medium zukes (next time I am trying them chopped)
2 eggs, beaten (okay to delete one or both yolks)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup grated mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Optional: pinches of basil, marjoram, and/or rosemary
2 T. olive oil
Pizza sauce and whatever other toppings you prefer

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Generously oil a 10-inch pie pan and coat lightly with flour (You can also use a jelly roll pan)
2) Combine zucchini, eggs, flour, mozzarella, Parmesan, and herbs, and 1 T olive oil in a bowl and mix well.
3) Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown. About halfway through the baking, brush with the remaining tablespoon of oil (optional). Remove from oven. When it has cooled for about 10 minutes, use a spatula to loosen the crust from the pan, so it won’t break later.
4) Top with your favorite pizza items and bake at 400 degrees F until heated through. The crust can be made up to several days in advance.

This is everything all mixed together

Of course it became an educational experience. Sarah helped me grate the zuckes in the big old food processor as well as crack and mix eggs and then we mixed the ingredients together, put on a pan and cooked it. Afterwards we put on regular pizza toppings (a little too much cheese, but still good).

Try this one pizza Friday.  While it might not replace your regular crust it is a good change to make sometimes.

And if that ins't enough zuke in one week for you, you can try this:  ZUKE POPS!

I made zucchini pops one night.  They were a big hit, they went over better than the pizza crust which was a hit as well.    I adapted the recipe from something I found here, at The Curious Country Cook.

My recipe for what I call 'Zucchini Pops' is below:
2 medium zucchinis chopped (approx 2 cups)
1/2 cup of chopped onion
1 cup of shredded cheese (mozzarella, Parmesan and Romano mixed together if you have them all)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup of Italian bread crumbs
1 tsp of garlic
2 tsp of Italian seasoning

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a mini muffin tin.

Chop zucchini and onion place in a medium size mixing bowl. Add the eggs, bread crumbs, seasonings and cheese and mix together. Use a spoon or a small cookie scoop and fill the cups of the mini cupcake tin. Place in oven and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes depending on oven. When done remove and eat like you would a potato pop. Enjoy!

(sorry I didn't get pictures of the family enjoy this yummy item).

Happy cooking!