Saturday, July 13, 2013

rosemary-zucchini bread

Last week's CSA share came with a fat bunch of fragrant rosemary and a few young zucchini. I usually use fresh rosemary to make a variation on pesto, but I wanted to mix things up this time. So I decided to update my Go-To Zucchini Bread from my first cookbook, The Urban Vegan, and infuse it with a bit of rosemary zing. Going with the Mediterranean theme, I added fresh lemon zest for freshness and replaced my usual canola oil with a fruity, green extra-virgin olive oil.

I was tickled with the results – the rosemary's heat and lemon's brightness add a mysterious sophistication to this humble American standby. I loved the flavor combination, but to be certain – and to preempt my eating all 4 mini loaves solo – I took a few loaves to work and my [non-vegan] colleagues gobbled them up in a matter of minutes without question. I hope you will, too!

Chop-chop. Take your time and chop the rosemary as finely as possible.
One quick note: I think of Rosemary, capital R intended, as a bossy playground brat. A little goes a long way. That's why it's critical to chop the sprigs as finely as possible. This will help domineering little Rosemary to cooperate with the other ingredients, keeping her pleasantly but noticeably in the background.

Rosemary-Zucchini Bread

  • 2 cups zucchini, shredded
  • 3 heaping T soy flour [or egg replacer of your choice to replace 3 eggs]
  • 2 cups sugar
  • ¾ cup extra-virgin oil [I recommend Colavita Private Selection Fruttato ]
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 T fresh rosemary, chopped excruciatingly fine [About 1 large sprig]
  • 1 T vanilla
  • Zest of one organic lemon
  • 1½ T baking powder
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ cup raisins (Optional)
  • ½ cup walnuts or, pecans chopped (Optional)
Makes 2 large loaves, 4 mini loaves or about 20 muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your pans.

In a large bowl, mix sugar, oil, zucchini and soy flour until blended. Add flour and other dry ingredients and mix until blended. Fold in the raisins and nuts, if using. Pour into pans and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. If making mini loaves, check after 25 minutes and every 5 minutes after until done. Muffins will take 15-20 minutes.

Allow to cool completely (about an hour) before attempting to remove from loaf pans. Note: These freeze well for up to 3 months. Wrap in plastic and then foil, first.

Bossa Nova wishes you a relaxing weekend!

Follow Me on Pinterest

11 comments:

xvavaveganx said...

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Rosemary! It's one of my favorite flavors but I agree that a little goes a long way! This sounds like a perfect combination, yum!

Andrea said...

Rosemary and lemon zest sound like such a refreshing addition to zucchini bread. I have two rosemary plants that are begging for a sweet use like this.

GlutenFreeHappyTummy said...

ooo this looks incredible! i love the rosemary in this!

Carrie™ said...

YumYumYum! I usually only think of rosemary for savoury dishes, but I can just imagine how well this would work. BTW, I'm hoping Bossa Nova got a belly rub as a reward for his incredibly cute pose.

Joey said...

Yep, another huge rosemary gan here. Normally when I use it for bread it's for foccacia, but I can see this one going into regular rotation too! And more cat pics please!

Anonymous said...

I made your tasty special bread & it was the max! It was superb, delicous & so much more! :)

MMMMMM! Thanks again! ;) x

urban vegan said...

So glad you liked it! I enjoy the kick of the rosemary – takes it beyond a summer cliche ;)

Mindy said...

I made these as muffins. This recipe is amazing. Yummy and sweet with such great flavors. Thanks for your blog.

urban vegan said...

Aw, thank you! So glad you enjoyed!

Unknown said...

I like this a lot. Thank you for sharing. I'm always looking for upcycles like this. In the end, you don't know it was a shipping pallet to begin with!
T20 cricket world cup 2016 groups list
ICC World Cup 2016 wc live

Unknown said...

I delight in the knowledge on your internet site. Regards http://kruegermedicalservices.com