This is a nice change from the traditional sweet zucchini bread. We used the fresh herbs we had on hand, basil and parsley, and they tasted wonderful. You can also use up that standard, 8 ounce container of ricotta. The extra ounce doesn’t seem to hurt the recipe. The book we got this from, Gifts from the Garden, by Deborah Robertson, has a lot of really beautiful and creative gift ideas that you might find useful this summer & fall.
Zucchini and Ricotta Muffins
©Debora Robertson, Gifts from the Garden
Makes 12
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
A few grinds of black pepper
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano (or other fresh herbs; we used basil)
1 cup Parmesan, coarsely grated
2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
7 oz ricotta (we used 8)
7 tablespoons olive oil
7 oz zucchini, coarsely grated
5 scallions, finely chopped
Paper cases
Muffin pan
Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a muffin pan with 12 paper cases.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk in the salt, pepper, oregano (or other herbs) and half of the Parmesan.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, ricotta and olive oil. Fold this into the flour with a spatula until just combined – be careful not to overmix as it will make the muffins tough. Fold in the zucchini and scallions.
Spoon the batter into the paper cases and sprinkle over the rest of the Parmesan. Bake for 18–20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
These muffins are best eaten on the day of baking, though they freeze quite well.