I don’t think there has ever been a time when I’ve wanted zucchini bread. Sure, I’ve tried it, and enjoyed it. Aunt Eileen used to deliver chocolate zucchini bread to our kitchen, and while I might have preferred her banana bread, I was always happy to eat a slice after dinner. But it’s never been something I’ve craved. It hasn’t even made it onto my “recipes to try” google doc, a fifteen page list of links that only seems to grow as recipe-rabbit-holes are something I don’t just fall down, I willingly dive down. This list includes recipes for trdelnik, rose and cardamom cookies, and Australian meat pies, so it’s truly a wonder to me that no zucchini bread recipe has ever managed to capture my attention.
Maybe I’m missing a key vitamin that zucchini supplies. Maybe my palate has changed for the better. Maybe all the zucchini bread photos on Instagram and the recipes in blogs have finally interested me. Or maybe I’m ready to admit that I didn’t learn how to spell zucchini until I spelled it out at least sixteen times as I wrote this post. Whatever the reason, I made my first loaf of zucchini bread. And have since spelled zucchini correctly on the first try at least seven times.
If I may say so, my first foray into the world of zucchini bread was pretty successful. My first thought was to go chocolate, but then I thought, maybe the reason I’ve never given zucchinis a try was that they seemed like green banana imposters. Instead, I opted for rosemary, lemon and whole wheat (saving the chocolate for the bananas in my freezer). The whole wheat flour is extra great because it holds more moisture than regular old flour. Even though you’ll get rid of some of the zucchini’s water, it’s still a vegetable, and veggies let off moisture. But it’s cool, because the flour is all ready to take on water and keep your bread moist! This bread is wonderful warm, however, I’d wait a few minutes after pulling it from the pan before slicing into it.
zucchini bread with rosemary
makes one loaf
1 cup shredded zucchini, from about 2 small to medium zucchinis
2 eggs
½ cup greek yogurt
¼ cup olive oil
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or butter a 9×5 inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang over the long sides.
- Line a mixing bowl with a clean towel and shred the zucchini directly into the bowl. Gather the ends of the towel and squeeze the zucchini to get rid of some of the water. Set aside. Dump any zucchini water from the bowl.
- In the mixing bowl (or a new one if you love doing dishes), lightly whisk together the eggs, then add the sugar, yogurt and olive oil. Add the zucchini and lemon zest.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and rosemary. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Bake 40-45 minutes or until a tester in the center comes out clean and the bread springs back when lightly touched. Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then lift the bread out of the pan using the parchment and let cool on a wire rack.
One slice, without a doubt, counts as a vegetable serving.