It's officially zucchini season.

Last Sunday at church, some friends brought in a grocery bag full of zucchini big and small, overabundance from their garden to share.

We love zucchini, so we took a few.

But what to do with them?

It figures into one of our favorite one-pot meals, chicken, rice and vegetables with a Moroccon flare.

And back in May, Angie suggested a veggie variation on crab cakes that puts a new spin on zucchini.

Of course, there's always the old standby, zucchini bread.

But there's a recipe I've been wanting to try for months, or even years: zucchini pie.

I'd never heard of this concoction util I attended my first Mississinewa 1812 a few years back. This annual fall festival / living history event is one of my favorite things about Grant County, and the turkey noodle soup and squash pie served by one of the vendors is one of the highlights for me.

The first time I tried that squash pie, I vowed I'd make it someday. Today was that day.
I had scrounged for recipes online the last time I had the urge to make this dish, but I can't remember which site I ended up pulling this one from. (My guess is Cooks.com.) I used some others there for reference today, trying to come up with the best way to replicate those flavors I savor every fall out at the battlefield.

I think this one had the best formula and best directions, except for one thing. It doesn't have a total cooking time. It just instructs the baker to "cook until set."

I've baked many a pumpkin pie in my life, and since this is a custard pie that's somewhat similar, I figured I'd have no problem. I was wrong. My pie came out just this side of burnt, and the texture of the filling verged on curdled. (In my defense, I had to leave it in a warm oven so as not to be late for work, because it still seemed to jiggly to remove. I think that was what pushed it over the edge.) But the taste! It was just what I was hoping for!

So next time, I'll know that "set" for this pie is still rather loose. It's more runny than your typical pumpkin filling, and the end result should be far less dry. Now I know. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying my not-quite-perfect pie anyway.

Here's the recipe I used:

Zucchini Pie
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups zucchini - peeled, seeded and sliced
1 cup evaporated milk
2 cups white sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons margarine or butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 recipe pastry for a 9-inch single crust pie (or a store-bought crust)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions
Boil zucchini until tender. Drain and let stand in cold water for about 5 minutes, then drain. (Alternately, spread out on a heat-safe surface and let cool, which is what I did while I was making my pie crust dough.)
In a large bowl, combine zucchini, evaporated milk, sugar, egg, margarine, flour, vanilla and salt. In two batches in a blender, blend until smooth. (I tried to put it all in the blender at once, as the original recipe said. Boy, what a mess I made!)
Pour into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake at 425 degrees farenheit for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake until set. (And remember, this is a very loose set. It will still be very jiggly, but it will firm up in the refrigerator. Next time, I'll start with about 45 minutes, and go from there.)
Do you have any recipes you turn to when you have extras from the garden?

Originally posted to The Grub Report by Patricia Gibson on August 2, 2007 11:34 PM

Labels: food, grubreport, recipes