Monday, August 8, 2011

Zucchini puffs

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Last week Weston, my nine-year-old, went to a cooking class. The class, purchased at a fundraising event, was taught by one of the administrators at my kids' school in her home. She and the two boys made some kid-friendly favorites: macaroni and cheese, an interesting dessert involving strawberries and Jell-O, and these dead-simple zucchini puffs.



Neither Weston nor his father is a huge zucchini fan. Okay, that's an understatement: Under normal circumstances neither will touch zucchini in any form other than zucchini muffins. But somehow the combination of cheese and broiler did the trick. We made a whole tray, we broiled a whole tray, we ate a whole tray.





Four ingredients, 10 minutes, easy enough for even the smallest kids to make, delicious enough to win over even the most ardent zucchini-haters: This one's a keeper.



print recipe

Zucchini puffs
Don't cut the zucchini too thinly - you want them to retain some of their crunch. Thanks to the wonderful Leslie Geffen for this family favorite.
Ingredients
  • 3 medium-sized fresh zucchini, washed, ends trimmed
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan, Romano or Grana Padano cheese
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil or fines herbes
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat the broiler. Put the oven rack about 5 inches from the heat. In my oven that's the second notch down. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.Slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch rounds. In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, grated cheese, dried herbs, and salt and pepper. Spread each zucchini round with a thin layer of the cheese mixture and place on the baking sheet.Broil the zucchini rounds 30-60 seconds, until the tops are golden brown and the cheese mixture puffs up a bit. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 4 servings

3 comments:

Cheesy Pennies said...

My mom had a similar recipe, called "hasty hots", but it was made with sliced french bread instead of zucchini. It was always a huge hit, especially at dinner parties. I'll have to try this version next time! My daughter's heading to cooking camp next week. I hope she comes home with some good treats, too...

BonnieBanters said...

Weston is so cute! Following in his mom's footsteps. Recipe looks yummy!

Kirsten Sellers said...

I've been looking for ways to use up zucchini; I'll give this a try!

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