Olive Oil Zucchini Bread

It is September and I still have some zucchinis coming from the garden, and so I continue to look for new recipes for them.  I came across this one for Olive Oil Zucchini Bread on NYT Cooking and the ingredient list was intriguing – including Greek yogurt and lemon zest – which I thought could be interesting.
 
I love that this loaf is less sweet than other zucchini breads and muffins, and the lemon zest make it taste summery. I think I’ll make this as muffins next time so that I can take them on the run with me.
 


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There’s a reason this has over 3,400 5-star reviews. It’s a more flavorful take on the traditional zucchini loaf. I should also mention that this was easy to make first thing in the morning and it was cooled and ready to eat before leaving for soccer games on a Saturday. Enjoy!
 
 
Olive Oil Zucchini Bread
 
INGREDIENTS:
·       Butter, for the pan
·       1 ½ cups/185 grams grated zucchini  
·       ⅔ cup/140 grams light brown sugar
·       ⅓ cup/80 milliliters olive oil (or other oil such as safflower or canola)
·       ⅓ cup/80 milliliters plain Greek yogurt
·       2 large eggs
·       1 teaspoon/5 milliliters vanilla extract
·       1 ½ cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
·       ½ teaspoon/3 grams salt
·       ½ teaspoon/3 grams baking soda
·       ½ teaspoon/2 grams baking powder
·       1 ½ teaspoons/4 grams ground cinnamon
·       ¼ teaspoon/1 gram ground nutmeg
·       1 teaspoon/2 grams finely grated lemon zest
·       ½ cup/55 grams chopped walnuts (optional)
 
 
PREPARATION:
 
1.              Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch loaf pan.
2.              In a large bowl, use a rubber spatula to mix together the grated zucchini, sugar, olive oil, yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract.
3.              Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, lemon zest and spices in a separate bowl. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the walnuts if using.
4.              Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40 to 55 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. The bread will be done when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
5.              Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and cool on a rack completely before cutting and serving.

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