Here’s a reissue of a recipe that got lost when this site was hacked earlier this month. ENJOY!
As a little girl, my favorite foods were apples, chicken and squash. You know how the character Bubba in Forest Gump talks about shrimp? I could talk about squash that way: baked acorn squash, roasted butternut squash, pumpkin cake (technically a squash), stuffed winter white squash, savory zucchini pie….
The simplest squash recipes are always the best. Butter, salt and fresh cracked pepper starred in my mother’s pan fried squash medley. I savored each delicious bite of buttery, salty green and gold squash coins. Before boys, I fell in love with squash.
Given my fondness for all things squash, I was surprised to find that these yummy stuffed peppers and squash are the only recipe on the blog so far made with my beloved vegetable. How can that be?
However, you will find some of my family’s favorite vegetable recipes here, like this easy gazpacho or our year-round best cucumber salad and these melt in your mouth slow good green beans.
Combinations of delicious vegetables make this Greek frittata your number one favorite recipe on the blog.
Why? Because it’s easy to make, colorful, gluten free, vegetarian and… it’s a pie!
I’m always looking for ways to make vegetables more flavorful and exciting. Mixing vegetables with eggs and cheese (sometimes called a gratin or quiche) makes a main dish or side that’s versatile, portable, and can be eaten at any temperature, at any time of day. That’s MY KIND of vegetable.
Zucchini Pie is filled with caramelized onions, sweet corn, jack and mozzarella cheese, eggs, parsley, cayenne and of course, zucchini.
Like Greek Frittata, its’s also gluten free and vegetarian.
Easy enough to make for dinner tonight but pretty enough to serve at holidays, parties and special occasions.
Use a glass pie plate or any shallow two quart ovenproof dish.
Zucchini Pie is a simple recipe you can customize all year long with other seasonal vegetables. Think about other vegetable combinations like toppings on a pizza, for example:
*Eggplant, fresh chopped tomatoes, mozzarella, ricotta cheese and basil.
*Artichoke hearts (canned or frozen and thawed), chopped peppers and onions, parmesan, feta cheese and Italian herbs.
*Broccoli and cauliflower, shredded cheddar and smoked gouda, a dash of dijon mustard and chopped chives.
Find more mix and match vegetable pie ideas at finecooking.com.
What are YOU baking these days? Leave comments and rate recipes below or post and tag your baking with #diginwithdana.
Can’t wait to see what you’re creating!
PrintSavory Zuchinni Pie
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Vegetable Main Dish or Side
- Cuisine: Spanish
Elevate zuchinni or your favorite vegetable to pie high status! Eggs and cheese make this a filling pie that can stand alone at meal time or as a sturdy side dish. Portable and delicious at any temperature, any time of day. Reduce prep time by sautéing onions ahead of time or leave them out. See blog for photos!
Ingredients
- 3 medium zucchini (1 lb or 500 gm)
- 1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped (optional)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 can whole kernel sweet corn, drained (about 15 oz. or 420 gm)
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 8 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded (225 gm)
- 4 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded (50 gm)
- 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley or fresh herbs (10 gm)
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- **Vegetables, cheeses and seasonings are easy to vary. See blog above for other combinations.
Instructions
- Line a pie plate or shallow baking dish with cooking spray and parchment paper (optional).
- Preheat oven to 350 F and place oven rack in the middle of the oven.
- Wash and trim zuchinni and cut into thin, even slices. (See blog for step by step photos.)
- Place zucchini in already boiling salted water for just three minutes, then drain.
- In the same pot, add olive oil and slowly saute onions, 20+ minutes, until very golden. (Add a few tablespoons of water if onions start to stick.)
- When onion is brown, mix in corn and remove from heat.
- Combine beaten eggs with jack cheese and 1/4 cup mozzarella. (Reserve other 1/4 cup mozzarella for decoration.) Add herbs and a little salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne.
- Fold in zuchinni, onions and corn and adjust for seasonings.
- Place vegetable mixture in parchment lined dish. If you like, arrange some zucchini slices in a decorative pattern on top.
- Bake 30 – 40 minutes, until sides start to brown and top is firm to the touch.
- Remove pie, add 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese on top and broil on top oven rack about 3 minutes, until golden and bubbly.
- Serve hot, warm, room temperature or cold.
- Wrap and refrigerate leftovers up to a week.
Notes
Adapted from Kalavassika kon Keso, Zuchinni and Cheese Gratin by Claudia Roden
The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York
Nutrition information based upon eight servings.
Lighten this dish by replacing 2 eggs with 3 egg whites and using low fat or less cheese.
Dana says
My friend Liz Liener loves this recipe and said there wasn’t a crumb left after Friday night dinner with guests.
★★★★★