Hello from the farm,
Gosh so many of you were making pasta after my note last week! So I thought I'd better share another little blurb on cooking with eggs....
There's a particular moment in late summer or early autumn when zucchini plants stop being charming. Up until then they are one of my favourite things in the kitchen garden. The blossoms are beautiful, I love cooking with them and harvesting them is an absolute joy.
Then suddenly there are zucchinis everywhere. They seem to appear overnight. Small ones. Large ones. Ones hiding under leaves like giant green torpedoes that I swear weren't there yesterday.
Years ago we opened our Gundaroo garden, as well as our beautiful restaurant kitchen garden (Grazing, Gundaroo) for the Australian Open Garden Scheme. Genevieve Jacobs, who was ABC Canberra's gardening commentator at the time, summed up the zucchini invasion perfectly when she said: "You know you're living in the country when you have to lock your car doors to stop people giving you zucchinis."
So at this point of the season, my kitchen seems to be filled with everything zucchini; zucchini pasta, zucchini fritters, zucchini bread and zucchini quietly added to dishes that were never designed to contain zucchini.
Eventually the only logical solution, especially when you run an egg farm, is old school Aussie zucchini slice. This recipe is Aussie as! I think this recipe was in my repertoire during my first attempts at adulting. It uses six eggs and a heroic amount of zucchini, which feels like a win.
Farmhouse Kitchen - Aussie Zucchini Slice
2 medium zucchinis, grated
1 medium-large brown onion, finely diced
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup self-raising flour
6 eggs
½ cup olive oil
3 rashers lean short cut bacon finely diced
Salt and pepper (I like white pepper in this)
Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Line a 20cm x 30cm lamington pan with baking paper or grease a non-stick pan.
Lightly salt the grated zucchinis. Leave for about 10 minutes and then squeeze the grated zucchini to remove excess liquid. (Use a tea towel)
In a bowl combine the zucchini, onion, cheese, bacon and oil.
Add the flour and mix to coat everything.
In another bowl whisk the eggs with a fork and then pour into the zucchini mixture. Season with salt and pepper and stir until combined.
Pour into the lined baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and set.
Cut into squares and serve warm or cold
A NOTE FROM THE FARM: Make a double batch you won't be sorry! (Neither will we, with it requiring 12 eggs). It is great for school lunches, but it won't last long as everyone will snack on it. It freezes really well. Our kitchen garden is chemical free in no-dig beds. We grow heirloom varieties of vegetables, such as the golden zucchini and costata romanesco pictured below. We don't sell our veggies but you can buy amazing local, seasonal veggies from Erica at Two Gums Farm
