Old Bay Zucchini “Pie”

Ingredients:
3 cups shredded zucchini
5 eggs
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Old Bay
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup shredded aged, sharp cheddar
1 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Squeeze dry zucchini if needed. Saute the onion in a skillet using a small amount of olive oil until translucent. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Add the zucchini, cooled onion, eggs, Old Bay, oil and cheddar to a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix, using an electric mixer until well combined. Mix in the flour and baking powder until a pancake-like batter forms. Spray with cooking spray or grease an 8×8 inch pan. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 45 minutes or until fully cooked (just few dry crumbs when a toothpick is inserted in the center) and golden brown on the bottom. Allow to sit in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack before slicing and serving.

My thoughts:

This is sort of a mash-up of the old favorite “impossible pie” made with Bisquick and an Australian dish I’ve encountered called “zucchini slice”. Impossible pie is so named because it seems impossible; you basically mix meat, fruit or vegetables with Bisquick and bake it and it magically forms a crust. Zucchini slice is sort of a cornless corn bread made with zucchini and sliced into squares. Both sounded pretty good to me so I thought I’d come up with my own version. I dropped the Bisquick in favor of flour and baking powder and used an 8×8 inch pan rather than a pie plate for easy slicing and serving. I had to add Old Bay because well, it is summer in Baltimore. The end result was ridiculously light and fluffy, almost souffle-like in texture. We couldn’t resist going back for seconds and (ahem) maybe thirds. It was a great light meal with a small salad or sliced tomatoes.

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3 Comments

  1. Okay, mixed reviews on this one. First off, where is the salt??? Your recipe doesn't call for any salt and it is very much needed. I added 5 good pinches of salt and it really could have used a little more. Next, I loved the lightness of this. But I wanted a little crunch and sweetness. Next time, I'll add some diced red pepper and sautee with the onions. All-in-all, a nice easy dinner. Thanks.

  2. Glad you enjoyed it. I did not use extra salt because the first ingredient in Old Bay is salt. Of course everyone has different tastes but I didn't see the need for additional salt.

  3. Made this again yesterday for a brunch. Two versions. (1) The Old Bay version here (I did add about half a red pepper and liked the hint of sweetness it provided), and; (2) A version substituting Cajun / Creole seasoning mix for the Old Bay. Both were served room temp and both disappeared in minutes. Unfortunately, because I soon realized that I hadn't tasted either and had to beg for a small taste of each. And no leftovers! I imagine this would be good as a leftover but have yet to finish a meal with any still around. Thanks again.

    I imagine that you could easily substitute the Old Bay seasoning (a Northeastern flavoring mis) for any number of other regional seasoning mixes with great success. Southwestern sounds good.