zucchini and butterbean soup

Crumpets are a surprisingly delicious soup accompaniment.

While summer might have taken its last breath, weather-wise, down here, the zucchini are still holding strong. Continuing my fierce wish to make use of everything I have, I made this delectable soup with some thick-skinned zukes that were verging on marrowhood. It was so good it made me wish zucchini season would last forever.

Zucchini and butterbean soup

Makes at least 4 generous bowls

Oil and butter (sufficient to brown the vegetables, how much depends on desired richness)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 small green chilli, finely chopped
650g zucchini (roughly two large ones), chopped
3 large leaves silverbeet, stems and leaves, chopped
1 x 420g can butter beans, drained
A handful of frozen peas (about half a cup, or thereabouts)
Stock of choice (vegetable, chicken or even old pesto jars rinsed out, or a combo of all three), to cover
Fresh dill, parsley, thyme and mint, a handful of each, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
A wedge of fresh lemon per person, to serve
Grated parmesan, to serve

I melted some butter in a saucepan for a different recipe and was so determined to use every skerrick of precious fat, that I decided I’d use the same saucepan to make the soup. To each their own. I added a splash of olive oil too.

Place the pan with oil and butter (in your desired quantity, but a tablespoon of each would be ample) on a medium-high heat and saute the onion, garlic and chilli briefly until they are starting to soften but not brown. Add the zucchini and silverbeet and cook, stirring fairly constantly, for a few minutes or until the vegetables start to soften and colour slightly.

Add the drained butter beans and frozen peas, stir to combine, then cover with the stock. I take this opportunity to rinse out any jars with only a teaspoon or so left in them (pesto is ideal for this recipe) and add that in too.

Bring the pot to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft and completely cooked.

Add the fresh soft herbs, stir to combine, and cook a moment or two longer. Season to taste, then puree with a hand blender until completely smooth.

Ladle into waiting bowls, squeeze a little fresh lemon and sprinkle with a bit of grated Parmesan.

Savour, with some good bread (or crumpets) alongside.

spiced zucchini and apple loaf

Might not look like much - but it’s good!

I’m making the most of my zucchini glut, as I’m sure you’ve been able to tell!

I’m trying to ration my eggs and butter carefully at the moment, so I decided to make this cake vegan and see what the results were. And it was spectacular.

It’s a supremely moist cake anyway, thanks to the zucchini, but with the apple sauce involved too, the outside of the loaf is crusty and the middle is almost custardy. So it’s perfect for dessert as well as alongside your morning or afternoon cup of coffee.

And don’t skimp on the spices - it may seem like a lot but the whole point is that the flavour of the spices is very pronounced in this cake. If you prefer the flavours to be subtler, halve the quantities I’ve listed below. You can use any combination of baking spices you like (mixed spice, ground nutmeg, etc) but what I’ve listed below was a particularly good combination, for a spice lover like me. I’d never put black pepper in a cake before and was amazed by how just three turns of the pepper grinder gave it such a pleasant heat.

I hope you give it a try!

Spiced zucchini and apple loaf

Inspired by a similar recipe in A Basket By the Door by Sophie Hansen

Roughly 500g grated zucchini (courgette), about 3 large ones (you can even use marrow, just cut the woolly middle bit out first)
250g wholemeal plain flour or wholemeal spelt flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
A generous grating of fresh nutmeg
3 turns of the black pepper grinder
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g brown sugar
6 heaped tablespoons apple sauce or puree
100ml olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180 C (fan-forced). Grease and line a large loaf tin or two small ones.

Squeeze as much liquid out of the grated zucchini as you can.

Place the squeezed grated zucchini in a bowl and add the flour, spices and salt, stir to combine. Add the vanilla, brown sugar, apple sauce and oil, and stir together until well combined (though try not to overmix, naturally).

Pour the batter into your prepared tin or tins, and bake in the oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. My oven is hotter than most so I checked mine after 45 minutes.

Allow the loaf to cool slightly then remove from the tin on to a cake rack to cool completely.

As it makes a large loaf, or two small ones, you can also happily freeze it in slices to defrost in the toaster whenever you need some comforting home-baked goodness. Which, let’s face it, in the times of coronavirus, is pretty much every day!

Enjoy it fresh or toasted, spread with butter, ricotta or left plain, and absolutely with a steaming cup of tea or coffee alongside.

zucchini flatbread

In a bid to waste nothing and make the most of my zucchini bounty, I came up with this dish at the weekend, faced with a lone multigrain wrap and a zucchini I had accidentally mandolined rather than grated in the food processor (I’d put the blade on the wrong way!).

It was so delicious! Tom and I shared this one but I will definitely make us one each next time. The recipe is easily doubled, tripled or quadrupled depending on how many flatbreads you have to use.

Zucchini flatbread

Makes one, for two to (reluctantly) share

1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced or mandolined
1 wrap or large pitta bread
2-3 tablespoons ricotta, pesto, cottage cheese or thick Greek yoghurt (I used ricotta)
1 small red chilli, finely chopped or a pinch of dried chilli flakes
A handful of fresh thyme leaves
A handful of grated cheese of your choice (I used ready-grated Parmesan)

Spread the ricotta across the base of the wrap. Layer the zucchini slices on top in concentric circles. Scatter with thyme, chilli and cheese. If you have a zucchini flower from the garden, put that in the middle too for that cheffy touch. Grind some black pepper over the top, if you like.

Prior to going into the oven! I thought it looked rather beautiful.

Bake for 5-8 minutes in a hot oven (check after 5, depending on the thickness of the wrap or pitta bread) until golden and bubbling. Allow to cool slightly, then cut into wedges as you would a pizza, and devour.

zucchini slice

The humble zucchini slice - one of Australia’s favourite dishes. No doubt we “borrowed” it from another nation! Zucchini slice appeared regularly on my family dinner table when I was a child and I was always dismayed when it did because I thought it was “boring”. But with the glut of zucchini in my vegetable garden at the moment, I thought I’d “Phil-ify” this family favourite and lo and behold, it’s delicious! And with the addition of fresh and dried herbs, including an Australian Bush Herbs mix I picked up from one of my favourite shops on the mainland, it’s anything but boring.

This dish is the perfect vehicle to use up a glut of zucchini, and any other vegetables you might have lying around that need using. You can also throw in any cheese you want to use up. It’s the ideal dish for these strange times when we’re all trying to make the most of what we’ve got.

If you’ve got a food processor, I highly recommend fitting the grater attachment and grating the onion, zucchini and cheese all together. An absolute breeze and takes about 20 seconds from start to finish. Just watch your fingers!

Zucchini slice

Serves 6

6 large, preferably organic, eggs
1 1/2 - 2 cups grated cheese of your choice (I used parmesan and cheddar)
3 large zucchini (about 1kg), grated
1 large onion, grated
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2 teaspoons Australian Bush Herbs mix (optional)
1 teaspoon dried basil
4 spring onions, finely chopped
Large handful of fresh mint, parsley and thyme (or another preferred combo of fresh herbs), finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Grease a large baking pan or lamington pan (I use a baking pan I’d normally make lasagna in).

Whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl with a bit of salt and pepper, then add all the rest of the ingredients. I tend to do this in stages - add the grated zucchini and onion, mix it in a bit, then the cheese and flour, then the seasonings, fresh herbs, etc. You want it all mixed nicely together with no lumps of flour.

Once thoroughly combined, scrape the mixture into your greased tin and spread out evenly. You can top with more cheese if you like but I tend not to.

Bake in the hot oven for around 35 minutes or until risen and golden on top. Put a knife or a skewer in, as if you’re testing a cake, and if it comes out clean, you’re good to go!

Allow the slice to sit for about 10-15 minutes before cutting into generous pieces. You can serve it as is, or with any accompaniment you like - salad, green beans, broccoli - but as the slice contains green veg already, my favourite way to serve this is with homemade potato wedges and a big dollop of homemade chutney.