Zucchini herb yogurt cake

I have been suffering from a surfeit of zucchini lately. Not from eating too much zucchini, just from having too many zucchini and not knowing what to do with them!


Ever since the zucchini started appearing at the markets, I can't keep my hands off them. I've been buying 2 or 3 a week, which may not seem like a lot, but for one person who already has plenty of other food at home, it certainly adds up.

And of course, I can't make the same zucchini dish over and over again, so I've had to keep coming up with new ways of using the little guys! I've made zucchini fritters, zucchini sautéed with pasta, zucchini baked with pasta, zucchini stuffed with feta, zucchini stuffed with lamb - just about the only thing I haven't made is zucchini ice cream. An interesting idea actually, but that will be for another day...

This cake started out in my mind as a set of zucchini herb muffins. Upon realizing I didn't have any muffin tins, I had to change course. After mulling over various possibilities, I decided that a savory cake - a sort of cross between zucchini bread and a zucchini quiche - would be a nice thing to try and a good way to use up both some zucchini and some of my fresh herbs, of which I also buy wayyyy too many (the bottom shelf of my refrigerator is currently stuffed full of basil, mint, dill, sage, and thyme which I'm sure will all dry out before I can ever use them up).

Considering the number of things I make that don't turn out at all the way I had envisioned them, this cake came shockingly close to what I had planned. Light, fresh, and very herby, it's a great summertime snack or appetizer.

Ingredients:
2 small zucchini or 1 very large one
2 or 3 scallions (green onions)
A large bunch of fresh dill
A large bunch of fresh mint
125 g. all-purpose flour
A small spoonful of baking soda
A smaller spoonful of salt
125 g. yogurt
50 g. kasseri cheese (a Greek/Turkish cheese made from unpasteurized sheep's milk. If you can't find any, substitute with a semi-hard cheese of your choosing, but I think the flavor of kasseri is perfect for this cake - a stronger cheese would be overwhelming)
A few spoonfuls of olive oil

Preheat the oven to 160º C / 355º F. Wash the zucchini, trim the ends, and chop them into thin rondelles. Wash the scallions and chop them finely. Heat a large sauté pan, add olive oil, and then add the zucchini and the scallions. Let cook on medium heat about 10 minutes, until zucchini are tender. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.


Wash the mint and dill and chop them up very finely. In a large bowl, sift together the flour with the baking soda and salt.

Grease a cake pan with olive oil. You could also use a loaf pan, to make the cake appear more bread-like - whatever you have available should be fine.

Lightly beat the eggs, and grate the cheese into the eggs. Working rather quickly, add the zucchini & scallions, the yogurt, the herbs, the eggs, the cheese, and the olive oil into the flour mixture. Mix together with a spoon just until the ingredients are combined. Immediately pour into the cake pan and place in the oven.

Let bake about 15 minutes, until a fork inserted in the cake comes out clean. Let cool and serve at room temperature, or refrigerate until serving later.

Feta salad with mint and dill

Mint and dill are omnipresent in Greek and Turkish cuisine, but in this salad they get to play a starring role instead of their usual supportive part!


As often happens, I went a bit crazy at the markets last weekend. I actually went to two farmer's markets on Sunday, because the stands at my normal market had run out of a couple things I wanted and I thought maybe the market in the next town over would have them. Well, the second market didn't have what I had originally wanted, but it did have all sorts of other epicurean delights, among them bunches and bunches of fresh dill!

I've seen fresh dill called for in lots of Greek and Turkish recipes, but I've never been able to find it at a farmer's market before, and so I got really excited and immediately bought a bunch. Then of course, I went through a week making all sorts of wonderful and tasty dishes, not one of which required any dill.

So here I was, left with a big bunch of dill and a fair amount of mint too, and so I thought "Why not just throw them into a salad with a few other things to really highlight their flavor, instead of parceling out a few leaves at a time to go with other dishes?"

The result, as it turns out, was delicious. For very little work, you get a very flavorful salad. Once the weather really turns warm and people start having potlucks and things, this will be a great dish to bring, especially since it only improves as it sits around!

Ingredients:
100 g. pearl couscous (also called Israeli or Lebanese couscous)
75 g. feta
1-2 large ripe tomatoes
A large bunch of fresh dill
A large bunch of fresh mint
Several sprigs of parsley
Olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Salt
Pepper

Prepare the pearl couscous the same way you prepare regular couscous: in a small pot, heat some water (a few inches or so) to boiling, then turn off the heat, add in the couscous, cover and let sit about 10 minutes.

While the couscous are sitting, wash the dill, mint, and parsley, and chop them all very finely. Wash the tomato and chop it into medium-small chunks, and chop the feta into cubes (or crumble it if you prefer). Combine the tomato, feta, and herbs in a large bowl.

When the couscous have soaked up all the water, let them cool a bit, and then add them to the tomato, feta, and herb mixture. Pour a couple spoonfuls of olive oil over everything, and then add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Stir well to combine, cover the bowl, and refrigerate for at least an hour. Serve cold or at room temperature. See, I told you was it easy!