Squash time! Alice Zaslavsky’s recipe for zucchini and corn slice
This little slice of sunshine is on high rotation at our house come summertime when zucchinis are abundant. That’s because it’s just as tasty fridge-cold as it is fresh from the oven. It also gets a big thumbs up from our daughter, who as a toddler delighted in taking finger lengths of the slice and turning it into mush between her fists before snuffling, and now as an almost-six-year-old loves helping to prepare it.
This slice tastes best in summer, when zucchini and tomatoes are at their peak. At other times of the year, just swap out the fresh tomatoes for a tomato chutney on the side. If you’d prefer to keep it vegetarian, leave the bacon out, or swap it for finely sliced button mushrooms.
Related: Slice of summer: watermelon and nectarines among Australia’s best-value fruit and veg in January
Unlike many other vegetables that intensify with flavour as they ripen and grow, a zucchini’s flavour peaks when it is around the size of a newborn’s forearm and then begins to deteriorate. As fermentation legend Sandor Katz says: “Zucchini has a finite amount of flavour – and the bigger it gets, the less of that flavour you can taste.”
You can still buy oversized zucchini, particularly when zucchini is most abundant in summertime, but at some point (probably once it’s the size of a grown man’s forearm) it begins to be referred to as “marrow” – and is best treated as you might a marrow bone … scooped, stuffed, seasoned and roasted, or sliced, battered and deep-fried.
I like using gluten-free flour in this slice because it’s lighter than regular flour and forms a slightly different crust set at the bottom, but you can use regular self-raising flour if you’d prefer.
You could also bake the batter in a muffin tin lined with paper cases as individually portioned frittatas for work and school lunchboxes – or just wrap slices in a bit of baking paper for on-the-go snacking.
When choosing zucchini, opt for a nice firm stem: bright green in colour, potentially furry and never browning or slimy. No matter the shade – yellow or varying shades of green – the colour should always be vibrant and rich. Scratches or bumps on the skin are OK, as long as the flesh beneath is still firm. Store it in the crisper, in a paper bag, with some level of ventilation – trapping the zucchini in an airlock leads to sweating.
Zucchini freezes well, as it’s so full of moisture and holds its shape when cooked. To do this, blanch it in unsalted boiling water for up to a minute (depending on the size of your chunks), then freeze on a tray with some space between the chunks, portion out when frozen, bag up, label and freeze again. As it’s still quite porous, try to use within three to four months for the best flavour and texture, or blitz into soup beyond this point.
Related: Dry them, fry them, turn them into sauce: what to cook with cheap, juicy summer tomatoes
On the subject of freezing, this slice freezes up a treat too – just slice, freeze and reheat from cold as you need.
Alice Zaslavsky’s recipe for zucchini and corn slice
Serves 4–6
2 medium-sized zucchini, coarsely grated
½ tsp salt
1 onion, finely diced
4 bacon rashers, cut into thin strips
½ cup (75g) gluten-free self-raising flour
½ cup (100g) fresh (or frozen) corn kernels
½ cup (75g) frozen peas
5 eggs
½ cup (125ml) milk
1 cup (100g) grated cheddar
4 tomatoes, sliced (bonus points for heirloom colours)
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Line a baking dish, about 20cm x 25cm in size, with baking paper, letting it overhang the sides a little.
Line a bowl with a clean (but old) tea towel. Add the grated zucchini, sprinkle with the salt and mix together with your hands. Twist the tea towel into a garotte to squeeze out the excess moisture from the zucchini, so you don’t end up with a watery slice.
Reserve the zucchini juice for your next green smoothie or vegetable soup.
Wipe the bowl dry, then pop the zucchini back in, along with the onion and bacon. Using a spatula, fold the flour through.
Meanwhile, boil a kettle. Put the corn and peas in a small heatproof bowl and pour some boiling water over them. Let stand for a few minutes, then drain.
In a bowl or jug, beat the eggs with a fork until the whites and yolks are combined, then beat in the milk. Pour the mixture over the zucchini, then fold in half the cheese, as well as the corn and peas.
Pour the mixture (which will be runnier than you expect) into the baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and arrange the tomato slices on top.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the egg has set and the top is slightly burnished. Serve warm or cold.
This is an edited extract from In Praise of Veg by Alice Zaslavsky, photography by Ben Dearnley, published by Murdoch Books in Australia (A$59.99) and the UK (£25), and in the US (US$35) and Canada (C$45) where it is published by Appetite by Random House
