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.