- Cuts into 10 slices - Ready in 1 hour 20 minutes (not including cooling time) -
* Uses up 2 medium courgettes *
Gather together...
2 medium courgettes (approx. 300g in total), roughly grated. NOTE - I hate grating so I always blitz (for a very short time) in a food processor, to do this you must chop the courgette into bitesize chunks first or else the food pro will turn the flesh to liquid if it is trying to deal with large chunks.
1.5 cups self-raising flour.
1 tbsp white (granulated or caster) sugar.
1/2 tsp baking powder (sieved).
1 tsp smoked paprika.
2 medium eggs.
1/3 cup (60ml or 60g on the scales) olive oil / rapeseed oil.
2 tsp pesto.
Serve with...
Butter.
Get cooking...
1. Line a 900g loaf tin (9"x5") with a greaseproof paper liner (you can get a reusable loaf tin liner, but it is a bit fiddly to use and your loaf will come out rather oddly shaped as the excess material folds in on itself - we happily use one but I thought I'd warn you!).
2. Cut off the ends of the courgette, then roughly grate the flesh (skin and all) onto a tea towel - use an old tea towel as it will get stained green! Squeeze out the moisture over the sink, do this really well – it will take about 30 seconds of squeezing.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) or Gas 4.
4. In a large bowl, mix together the 1.5 cups of SR flour, the 1 tbsp of white sugar, sieve in the 1/2 tsp of baking powder and add the 1 tsp of smoked paprika.
5. In a medium jug, whisk together the 2 medium eggs and the 60ml of oil, until the mixture has combined and it's light and frothy. Stir the 2 tsp of pesto into the frothy mixture.
6. Add the (squeezed) courgette to the egg mixture and stir to combine.
7. Tip the eggy-courgette mixture into the flour mixture and use a metal spoon to fold everything together until the mixture is just combined. Don’t over-mix or the bread will be tough.
8. Spoon the mixture into your lined loaf tin and bake in the oven for 45 - 60 minutes (until a skewer comes out clean).
10. Remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes in the tin, and then transfer it to a wire rack to cool for at least an hour (so that it finishes cooking with the residual heat).
11. Enjoy it sliced and spread with butter - yum!
12. Keep the loaf in an airtight container and eat it up within 3 days.
Adapted from this recipe on the norecipes.com page.