a tasty and light recipe for summer

Lovers of savory cakes, this recipe is for you. It is ultra delicious and very melting in the mouth. Quite uniform in texture, ultra soft, there are no large pieces of vegetables or cheese, such as feta, as we often see in savory zucchini cakes.

Savory cake, endless variations

So here I offer you a recipe a little different from my usual savory cakes, in a vegetarian version. After the classic ham cheese olive cake, or the candied tomato tuna feta cake, always a success, I shared with you two cakes that I like to make: the first cake with lots of Provencal-style pan-fried peppers, one of my favorites, and another with zucchini, feta and basil.

What do I like in cakes? It’s a bit like quiches, from a very simple base, we can make all kinds of combinations according to our desires, our inspiration, the products we have at home or even leftovers from other dishes in zero waste mode. Easy, and quick too.

How are zucchini prepared

So no slices or large pieces of zucchini. Here the zucchini are finely grated like you do with grated carrots. I don’t drain them but prefer to fry them for a few minutes with butter for more deliciousness.
By making them sweat like this, they will lose their vegetation waterand thus do not soak the cake dough during baking. Simple and effective.

Just heat a pan. When hot, add a knob of butter. Pour in the grated zucchini, mix and cook for a few minutes. The objective is not to cook the zucchini, they will finish cooking in the oven in the cake, but to evaporate the water contained in the zucchini.
I’m talking about a few minutes because it’s difficult to give a precise time, it depends on the quality and maturity of your zucchini, and also the strength of your fire. But I think you get the idea.

Lots of cheese

I admit, 200g grated parmesan and 100g grated cheese (no need for Comté or other very flavorful or expensive cheese, Emmental or Gruyère will do just fine) can seem like a lot.
In fact I tested this recipe several times with different ratios between Parmesan and Emmental, and different quantities. And It is with this proportion that I find it better.

Choose fairly finely grated parmesan as sold commercially. If you grate it yourself, opt for the finest grind possible.

Fresh herbs

I make this recipe with fresh mint, which helps balance the flavors against the quantity of cheese and gives a very pleasant fresh and light taste. I personally add two handfuls of chopped mint.

If you don’t like mint too much, or don’t want that strong flavor, you can cut down to just a handful, or you can remove the mint from the recipe or choose another fresh herb, like basil.

The cake dough

The base is always more or less the same in my recipes, with variations in the quantities of flour, milk or oil, in order to adapt to the filling and give a soft and not dry cake.
This is why the recipe here varies a little from the others offered on this blog, I have put the links at the beginning of the article.

Note that if you have lactose intolerance, you can replace milk with a vegetable drink, oats, soy or other for example.

How to serve this cake

• Cold or warm as a starter with a green salad or a mixture of raw vegetables.
• In cubes as an aperitiffor an aperitif dinner or brunch.
• For a picnic it’s perfect too.

PS: sorry for the photo quickly taken without culinary styling during a family lunch (with a plate from my grandfather anyway!), I admit, it’s really an everyday recipe at home, quickly prepared and served (and devoured) straight away!