This light, fresh and tasty bake is quick and easy to assemble. It can be served warm or cold, as an appetizer or a vegetarian entrée, or cut into small cubes and served as finger food.
The original recipe comes, once again, from the fabulous Sephardi cuisine (more information about it can be found HERE) and has many variations. The ones I’ve come across with were all prepared without a crust.
As much as I love the simple original recipe, I thought it could benefit from a bit of crunchiness on top. So I’ve decided to add a layer of chopped roasted hazelnuts, breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese. I think the topping adds a lot to the dish in flavor and texture, but feel free to omit it, or experiment with other nuts and cheeses.
Makes: 20 medium squares
Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
For the bake:
1 Tbs olive oil
4 cups coarsely grated zucchini
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, finely grated
10 oz (285 grams) unsalted farmer’s cheese
4.5 oz (125 grams) crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
2 XL eggs
3 Tbs flour
For the topping:
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup roasted unsalted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp salt
1. Preheat the oven to 385F (195C). Oil a 7”x11” (17.5cm x 28cm) baking pan with the olive oil.
2. Mix the grated zucchini with the salt in a large colander. Place over a bowl for about 10 minutes, to let the liquids drain (squeeze from time to time to fasten the process). You will end up with about 3 cups after the process.
3. Meanwhile, mix all the rest of the ingredients for the bake in a large bowl. Add the squeezed zucchini and mix well. Transfer to the oiled pan and even the top with a spatula.
4. Mix the ingredients for the topping in a small bowl and scatter all over the zucchini layer.
5. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the topping is golden and the bake is set. Serve warm or cold.
This looks divine!
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Thank you Cindy! I’m glad to hear. 🙂
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I love zucchini, but would dive head first into a bowl of that topping! Together = unbeatable!
Virtual hugs,
Judie
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Same here! By now the topping is the real reason for making this bake… 😀
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Oh yeah…. this is ‘right up my alley’ – great to bring to potlucks, not that a person has to wait for a potluck to make this!!!
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You’re right Cecile, no reason to wait for a potluck to make this! Plus, you can always cut the amounts in half and make a smaller version. 🙂
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Just ‘pinned’ it and (something I hardly ever do) shared it on Facebook. This is just too good to not share with everyone !!
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Thank you Cecile! It’s a great compliment. 🙂
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This looks delicious 😋
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Thank you! 🙂
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Oh wow! I love this 🙂
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Thank you Elaine! I’m glad you do. 🙂
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x
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A great way to use up courgettes! Looks devine! 🙂
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Thank you Sam! I’m glad you liked it 🙂
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I never would have thought about using hazelnuts as a casserole topping, but it looks delicious.
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Thank you Sheryl. I love adding nuts to toppings, and the roasted hazelnuts worked great with this one.
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Sounds a bit like some frittata with a heavy vegetable input, great idea! I will keep that in mind for sure.
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Thank you Claudia! 🙂 You are right – the original was indeed a frittata that was transformed into a bake, as it allows to add more cheese, which I love. 🙂
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You know, Ronit, as much as I love zucchini and, of course, cheese, I bet the star of this dish are the hazelnuts. They bring such great texture and a wonderful flavor to each bar.
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You’re right John – the hazelnuts ended up as the star of the dish and now that’s my preferred topping. 🙂
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Yum, this looks good – an so cheesy!
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Yes, the cheeses add so much! 🙂
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Ronit your recipes are always such a treat. It looks delicious! Have a nice week 🙂 xx
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Thank you Marta! I’m glad to hear. Have a great week. 🙂
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This looks so delicious !
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Thank you Lea! 🙂
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A great way to use up zucchini which are in abundant this time of year. I too like a crunchy topping.
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Thank you Norma. 🙂
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Damn delicious, love anykind of savoury zucchini snack!!!
the hazelnut crust topping made nit fancy even more
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Thank you Dedey. 🙂
I’m glad you liked the recipe. The hazelnuts topping really adds a lot.
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Delicious looking!
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Thank you Liz! 🙂 It was very tasty indeed. 🙂
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On no! This is going to do me in….I can never ever say no to a recipe like this……Ah! I want a piece right now. It is a good thing this isn’t in front of me, I would it all of it. 🙂 ♥
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Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the post, even only through the photos. 🙂
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Yummy… Feel like tasting
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Thank you! 🙂
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Wow just love this cheese bake. …delicious. ..
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Thank you Chitra. I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
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what a tasty treat! love your recipes!
Thank you so very much for following! Eddie
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Thank you Eddie! I enjoy your blog as well. 🙂
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I recently made three Zucchini breads but never thought of zucchini and cheese combination. I know it tastes very nice. Thanks for sharing!
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Zucchini goes great with cheeses, especially fairly light ones like the ones here. 🙂
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Sounds excellent, unusual, can’t wait to try! 🙂
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Thank you Yana. 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy the results. 🙂
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Yummy! I must try it! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Thank you! I hope you’ll enjoy the results as much as I did. 🙂
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Zucchini, cheese, hazelnuts oh my! Love it and will bake it. Thanks
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Thank you Tracy. 🙂 I’m glad you liked the idea and hope you’ll enjoy the results. 🙂
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You need a Pinterest button so I can Pin this.
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Oops, found it. Never mind.
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😀
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