zucchini – Better with Lemon

I am not a fan of the cherished American tradition of making desserts out of vegetables. I have never liked pumpkin pie. Sweet potato pie? Not for me. I’ll eat a slice of carrot cake but only because it’s usually covered in sugary, creamy frosting (though I did recently find this unfrosted recipe that I love). I think zucchini muffins are ok as a snack but as dessert? No way. It’s not because I don’t like the vegetables themselves. I love them. But only in savory dishes.

Maybe it’s an American vs. non-American thing. We tried to get our friends in Paris to have some pumpkin pie one year when we were celebrating Thanksgiving with them. They wouldn’t even touch it. For them, it was a double abomination. It was made out of pumpkin, a vegetable, and it included a healthy amount of cinnamon, a spice they associate with savory dishes and can’t understand why Americans put it in every dessert (I’m on the side of Americans on that one; I love cinnamon in desserts).

In any case, this is the time of year when people who are lucky enough to have vegetable gardens start to post pictures of all the zucchini they are getting and asking for recipes to use it up. Inevitably, zucchini bread recipes start appearing left and right. I usually ignore them. But when I saw this recipe for double chocolate zucchini bread, I was curious. I mean double chocolate! I am happy to report that a couple of hour later I had made the first zucchini bread I love.

Now, let’s be honest here. This is a chocolate cake. No, a double chocolate cake. The zucchini is a minor player. Really minor. You won’t even know it’s there. But heck, if you want an excuse to justify eating a slice of moist, rich, luscious chocolate cake, tell people this is a zucchini bread and that it’s actually “good for you.” And then walk away before they ask to try a bite out of your own slice.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread – Slightly adapted from The Kitchn

Ingredients:

1/2 vegetable oil
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 cup (1 ounce) cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups coarsely grated zucchini
1 1/3 cups (6 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Butter and flour an 8×5-inch loaf tin then preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and flour.

In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, vanilla, and sugar until combined. Stir in the zucchini until combined.

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold until combined (do not overmix). Fold in the chocolate chips.

Transfer the batter to the loaf tin and spread out using a spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes until the cake has risen and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out without batter on it (the toothpick might just have some melted chocolate on it from the chocolate chips).

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

We had arrived a couple of days earlier. It was Steve’s first time in my hometown and I was driving him around, showing him the places where I grew up. It was a beautiful, sunny spring day and we were walking around the old part of the city. It had gone through many transformations, from the bustling commercial center of town to a neglected ghost of its past glory, until several years ago it was turned into a pedestrian-only zone. There was a lot of complaining from the store owners, that the lack of cars would kill the little business they had left. Instead, the area transformed itself. Old buildings were restored. Restaurants and coffee shops opened everywhere. People rediscovered the joy of walking, unencumbered by cars. Retro became cool and the area blossomed.

So there we were, walking along the “main” street (what used to be a narrow, single-lane road, but the “main” one nevertheless) when we decided to look for a place to eat. We passed by a few places, with tables out on the street, awash in sunshine, but we decided to keep looking. We turned the corner into a little side street when Steve spotted it. It was not much. An old (really old), low building in the back of an alley, with a concrete floor yard, covered with thatched straw, providing a welcome shade for us. It was a small restaurant that opened for lunch and sold just a few homemade dishes, simple and traditional, enough to feed the motley crew of locals that were hanging out outside. We took a table and ordered.

I don’t remember what else we ate there. But I do remember that we ordered kolokouthkia me t’afka (zucchini with eggs). It seemed an unremarkable choice for me. It was something I grew up with, a quick solution for a meal when my mom was pressed for time. But I also remember Steve’s face when he took his first taste. His eyes lit up with that look of amazement and discovery we both get when we taste something remarkable. “Why have we not had this before?” he said. Truth was, I had forgotten about it. Needless to say, we have had this dish many times every since.

There were a lot of memories made on that trip. There were the drives through villages redolent with the aroma of orange blossoms. There was the lunch on top of a rock overlooking the Mediterranean Sea as we watched a storm approach. But before all of those there was this, the simple meal of zucchini with eggs, cooked in olive oil and showered with fresh lemon juice.

Zucchini with Eggs (Kolokouthkia me t’afka)

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

Half a medium onion, chopped
1 large zucchini (about 10oz-12oz/280gr-340gr)
4 large eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon
salt and pepper

Directions:

Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and then slice crosswise very thin (about 1/8″) using a very sharp knife or a mandolin. Whisk eggs in a small bowl with some salt and pepper and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook for about 2 minutes until onion just begins to soften but hasn’t started to brown yet. Increase heat to medium-high and add the zucchini. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until zucchini is cooked and lightly browned at the edges (about 15-17 minutes).

Reduce heat to medium and add eggs. Cook, stirring often, until eggs are cooked through, about 2-4 minutes.

Serve immediately with lots of fresh lemon juice squeezed on top (we use the juice of an entire lemon for two servings).