Zucchini cranberry walnut pancakes

Zucchini, like tomatoes, have been aplenty in our CSA crate recently. We got two huge ones last week, three the week before, and two this past week. I love zucchini as much as the next person, but there were only so many times I could saute and grill it and not want to do something else with it.

A while back I came across a recipe for zucchini pancakes from smitten kitchen. When zucchinis kept on showing up on Thursdays, I knew exactly what I had to do with them, but the recipe I saw wasn't quite exciting enough for me. I needed something more. I'll admit, sometimes I don't know to stop when I'm ahead, and I'll make something and add so much stuff to it that it doesn't taste right anymore. This time, though, I looked at the recipe and thought, "nuts! fruit!" and hoped I'd be safe.

Safe I was. These things are unreal.

I was so pleased with these. I couldn't get enough (and yes, I'll probably make them again this weekend!). The addition of chopped walnuts and dried cranberries give this pancake a little more sweet and tart, and a bit of crunch. To be honest, they remind me a little bit of these muffins; but I'm a firm believer that pancakes trump every breakfast item, so in my mind, they're better.

These pancakes can be a little soft, and if you're not careful, can be a little doughy inside (though we actually don't mind that). The textures are really wild-the soft zucchini, the crunchy nuts, the chewy cranberries-it's fantastic. It does make me think of fall, which makes me a little sad, but then I remember that it's still August, and it's 80 degrees outside and I'm wearing shorts, and it makes me feel better.

Zucchini Pancakes (adapted from smitten kitchen)

2 eggs
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp each of milk and plain greek yogurt, mixed together well
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini (I used one gigantic zucchini, but you can probably do it with two medium ones)
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

1/2 c. dried cranberries

In a large bowl, add eggs, olive oil, sugar, the milk/yogurt mixture, and vanilla until smooth. Mix in zucchini shreds. In another bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.. Stir dry ingredients into zucchini batter, mixing until just combined. Add cranberries and walnuts.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and spray with a butter spray to keep the batter from sticking. Once hot (flick a few water drops over the pan-it's ready if the water dances), ladle the batter in pan-I used a medium ice cream scoop. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook another few minutes until golden brown underneath. Serve with real maple syrup, or with a mixture ratio of 1 Tbsp. syrup to 3 Tbsp. greek yogurt. I used the greek yogurt mixture to make me feel like it wasn't quite as bad for me, and to be honest, I liked the yogurt with this much more than I thought I would (maybe because it reminds me of whipped cream?). I'll have to figure out which is better when I make them again this weekend. 

Heirloom Tomato Pie

For our CSA share last week, we received lots of good things, but one of the things I noticed the most were the tomatoes.

So help me, I swear we got two pounds a metric ton of tomatoes. Though I love tomatoes, I was a little scared-I needed to figure out a way to use all of these tomatoes. A lot of people would have told me, "make sauce!" which would have been fine, except that I really wanted to use them in different ways (look for another tomato related post coming up!). Knowing we were going to have friends over this past weekend for dinner, and knowing that I wanted to make something summery, and knowing that this meal is incredibly simple and one of our favorites, heirloom tomato pie was a no brainer.

I began making this pie last year when I saw it in the Food Network magazine (and, ironically, the recipe showed up as a recipe of the day in my email inbox when I went to make it on Sunday. Coincidence??). I loved tomatoes, and it looked so good on the cover (isn't that always how it goes?) that I had to make it for us for dinner.

And then I made it again. And again. And again. Every time I saw heirlooms, I knew we were having pie. I knew Adam wouldn't mind, because I think he liked it even more than I did. Maybe it reminded him of pizza, but whatever it was, I knew I had a dish that I could make every day if I wanted and we would eat it.

Now, heirloom tomato season is back, and when I got those tomatoes last week, I knew exactly what to do (though admittedly, the tomatoes we got weren't heirloom. I did have a few extra of those already. Regular tomatoes work just as well in this dish).

I will admit that I cheat a bit on this dish. The recipe calls for a homemade cornmeal crust, and I use a storebought pie crust. I use basil instead of the herbs it calls for, and I use greek yogurt as the binder because I usually have a ton of that lying around, and I don't always have mayo (though admittedly, I have done it with mayo, and the pie does become a bit richer. It tastes fantastic either way.).

Heirloom tomato season is short. Putting this dish together is fast and easy. Eating it is awesome. I suggest you get on this one immediately.

 *This is in a tupperware dish to go in my lunch. Not on the bare counter!

Heirloom Tomato Pie (recipe adapted from foodnetwork.com)

• one storebought pie crust
• 3/4 c. shredded pecorino romano cheese
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 6-8 mixed heirloom tomatoes
• 3/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 c. greek yogurt
• 3 Tbsp. panko breadcrumbs
• 5 Tbsp. fresh chopped basil
• Freshly ground pepper and salt
• 
  

Directions

Saute onion in a large skilled over medium heat with 1 Tbsp. olive oil until soft and opaque, about ten minutes. Slice the tomatoes; toss with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and drain in a colander until fully drained, about ten minutes (if you get impatient, skip it. I often do. It makes the pie a little soupier but still just as good).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine both cheeses, greek yogurt, breadcrumbs, the basil, 1/4 teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper, and the sauteed onion in a bowl. Take the pie crust and unfold it into a standard pie dish. Spread the cheesy onion yogurt mixture in the crust. Arrange the tomatoes on top. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with pepper. Bake until the tomatoes are browned, about 50 minutes.