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Savory Zucchini Muffins

Monday, September 20, 2010

Remember my recipe for Squash Pancakes? I love these pancakes, but striving to live a healthier lifestyle, I always think about less harmful ways of cooking. So the idea of baking instead of frying those pancakes has been brewing in my mind for quite a while, and only negative influence of my very conservative other half was preventing me from doing this. :)
There are many recipes for zucchini muffins on the web, but as far as I was able to research,  they are all sweet, with vanilla, sugars and stuff... One of these recipes is by Martha Stewart from whom I learned a lot while in America. To me however zucchinis and other squashes exist for mainly savory preparations, and combination of zucchini and vanilla make me feel dizzy. Sorry, Martha...
OK, now, my zucchini muffins are savory - no sugar, less calories! No deadly carcinogens hiding in fried crust! Let's begin.

What you need:
3 zucchinis (about 8" long), coarsely grated
2 eggs
1/2 small yellow onion, coarsely grated
1 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp sour cream or kefir
White pepper
Salt
1 tsp dill, finely chopped
10 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
Grated cheese for sprinkling on top

Method:
Prepare medium muffin baking pan for 12 muffins(oil or butter the muffin sections). Set the oven at 365F.
Mix zucchinis, onion, garlic, eggs, sour cream, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and dill. Then add 2/3 flour, mix until even, then add the rest of the flour and baking soda, mix well again. The dough should not be runny and resemble thick sour cream by consistency.
Scoop 2 tbsp of mass for each muffin. You should have exactly 12 muffins. Sprinkle with grated cheese on top.
Bake for about 40 minutes until golden, broil if necessary to achieve crunchiness on top. Serve warm with fresh butter.

Notes:
The oven must be preheated! It concerns all baking recipes containing baking soda or baking powder, otherwise the dough will not rise properly. In this recipe it is even more important since zucchinis make the dough heavy. Don't open the oven until muffins are set - they might flatten in the middle.
I can tell you, folks, that even I who is very critical of my own creations and almost always find something that is wrong, even I was quite happy with the outcome. Muffins were very moist and tender inside, and had a tasty golden crust outside - just as with squash pancakes, but in a healthier way. Besides, they had this wonderful cheesy note.
The aroma of baking muffins was unbelievably delicious and made our home even cosier than it is. 
With melting butter oozing through freshly baked muffin pores it was pleasantly surprising experience. Enjoy and don't feel guilty or scared... :)

5 comments:

Masha S. said...

Mom, looking at the pictures and descriptions, I am less hesitant to try it... Looks tasty!
Btw, how much salt did you use for this?

Nadia S. said...

This is an interesting question - I never measure salt, I just salt and then try. :) But 1 tsp of coarse Kosher salt will do. Maybe a little less...

Tera said...

Planning on making rhubarb muffins..sweet...and these yummy looking savory muffins for breakfast! Thanks for the recipe!

Nadia S. said...

You are very welcome, Tera!
Happy eating and come again soon. :)

Masha S. said...

Mom, how many eggs? I wanted to make this today, but alas... not confident enough to guess.

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