Courgette (Zucchini) Nut Bread
When I was a child in Scituate, Massachusetts, my Mom had a vegetable garden and I was often given the task of weeding it. I didn’t enjoy weeding as much as I enjoyed harvesting the different vegetables that very soon after appeared on my plate. Some vegetables grew slowly and yielded little, such as my favourite white sweet corn, while others seemed to double in size and ripen overnight, yielding vast crops of such things as zucchini or courgettes. Faced year after year with gluts of gorgeous green squash, Mom consulted her cookbooks and came up with various recipes now forgotten and one that sticks in my mind for being a real keeper. That keeper of a recipe is for zucchini nut bread, from our old standard Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. “What, a bread made from courgettes?” I hear you say. Yes, just as we make a cake from carrots, Zucchini or Courgette Nut Bread is a delicious loaf cake flavoured with cinnamon and nutmeg, a perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea, glass of milk or cup of coffee. Transform your glut of courgettes or zucchini into this delicious loaf and pop it into the freezer to make ahead and enjoy all year long. And how about making muffins or mini loaves as brilliant Christmas and holiday gifts? Sounds to me like a great way to avoid waste!
Courgette (Zucchini) Nut Bread
The grated lemon peel in this recipe really livens up the flavour and makes this a super recipe for using up gluts of courgettes, zucchini or marrow. Whatever you call it, it’s good! See Madame Thermomix’s Top Tips for other ways to bake and serve this delicious loaf. I love it at breakfast 😉 The nuts are optional, it’s just as good without. Perfect for Christmas and other gifts. Make ahead and freeze for parties, gifts and year-round delights. Recipe adapted by Madame Thermomix from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. Makes one standard loaf, one 20 cm/8 inch deep-sided round cake, 24 muffins or 8 mini loaf cakes. Prep time 2 minutes (thank you Thermomix!); bake/Varoma steam time 60 minutes; 10 minutes cooling time.
Ingredients
60 g walnuts or pecans (optional)
2.5 cm/1-inch piece of lemon peel
200 g sugar
200 g plain flour
a 2.5 cm/1-inch piece of cinnamon stick (or 1 tsp. ground cinnamon)
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. fine sea salt
½ tsp. baking soda (bicarbonate)
¼ tsp. baking powder
200 g unpeeled courgette/zucchini, cut into large chunks
1 egg
110 g sunflower oil
Method
- Preheat oven to 180° C/350° F. If using, chop nuts 1 second/Speed 5; tip out and reserve. Grind sugar and lemon peel 20 seconds/Speed 10.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix 10 to 20 seconds/Speed 5 until you have a smooth cake batter.
- Scrape down the sides of the TM bowl and mix in the reserved nuts with the spatula.
- Pour the batter into a loaf tin, greased and lined with baking paper. Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the centre comes out clean.
- Cool in tin for 10 minutes. Remove from tin and let cool thoroughly on a cooling rack. Wrap loaf in clingfilm and store overnight before slicing – if you can wait that long!
Madame Thermomix’s Top Tips:
- Make mini-loaves or muffins in silicone or metal tins; bake 15 to 18 minutes or until a pick near the centre comes out clean. Eat some and freeze some; perfect for gifting, too!
- Pour batter into a deep-sided 20 cm/8 inch cake tin and steam in your Varoma for 55 to 60 minutes or until a pick near the centre comes out clean. It should be the moistest cake you’ve ever made!
Bon appétit !
