Zucchini Bread

We’ve all had a moment or two of panic buying in the last few weeks. There’s some primal instinct that kicks in when you learn you might not be able to find food the way you’re used to. For a lot of people, apparently, that meant panic-buying toilet paper and meat. In my case, it meant buying 10 heads of broccoli and 20 (ok, 25) zucchini.

This is because zucchini (courgette for you Brits) is the perfect food to stockpile during a global pandemic: it is an inexpensive, versatile, long-lasting, immune-boosting ingredient that is probably accessible because no one else has thought to hoard it. There are a million salty zucchini recipes worth making: zucchini goes with tomato sauce, with ricotta, eggs, pasta, risotto, on its own roasted with olive oil, pickled, pureed, breaded, gratined. I’ve learned that I can feed the 6 people in my household with nothing more than a bag of pasta, some garlic and 5 zucchini (or 4 heads of broccoli). But there are really only two sweet zucchini recipes, and this is one of them (the other involves chocolate and has THREE CUPS of zucchini and is so worth it, trust me).

If you grew up in the U.S. in the ‘90s you know what zucchini bread is. My mom wasn’t American enough to make it but my best friend’s mom was (hi, Debbie!). Her recipe probably came from the Moosewood Cookbook or Victory Garden Cookbook, and it was probably full of walnuts and zucchini from her vegetable garden. I loved it covered in butter, it tasted like home and love and wholesome American baked things: it tasted like comfort.

So, in these bizarre, frightening times in which I happen to have an insatiable hankering for home, a shitload of zucchini and not much else, I will make zucchini bread. It might not be as soft or as wholesome as I remember, but that’s ok. It’ll feed us all and it will be good. And right now, that’s enough.

Zucchini Bread

I have no idea where this recipe came from but I’ve had it forever. It’s so easy to make - the only slightly annoying part is grating the zucchini. The recipe calls for 3 zucchini, but I used about 6, which is why my loaf looks a bit stodgier than it should - stick to 3 zucchini and it’ll be soft and delightful.

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil (vegetable or sunflower or canola or similar)

2 eggs

zest of 1 orange (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon (don’t skimp)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 zucchini, grated (around 1 1/2 cups)

Preheat the oven to 350F/175C.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, eggs, zest and vanilla. In another bowl, grate the zucchini. In a third bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg. Gently mix the flour mixture into the wet mixture until just combined then gently mix in the grated zucchini.

Grease a loaf pan with butter then spoon in the batter and bake in the preheated oven for 45 - 55 minutes. Test after 40 minutes; when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with a few crumbs on it, it’s done.