Zapple Cobbler

Are you up to your elbows in zucchini? It’s a grand vegetable, but sometimes you just feel like you’ve had enough of vegetables, so it’s time to turn your zucchini into fruit. This recipe for Mock Apple Cobbler, or Zapple Cobbler, as we recently dubbed it, is made from zucchini. It's from the From Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook published by the Madison (Wisconsin) area CSA coalition, and we’d like to thank Enright CSA member Jeanne Nightingale for bringing it to our attention by baking it for the Civic Garden Center tasting last week. It really tastes like apples, and it was a big hit. Plus, it offers one more thing to do with zucchini! (One note, this recipe is easy to make in a smaller portion—just use half the ingredients and an 8 x 8 square pan.)

Mock Apple Cobbler
Submitted by Lisa Kivirist, Inn Serendipity

Filling ingredients:
3 pounds peeled, seeded, and chopped zucchini (about 8 cups)
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Crust ingredients:
4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine the zucchini and lemon juice in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until the zucchini is tender, about 20 minutes. Then stir in the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and simmer for about 1 more minute. Remove from heat. Heat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9 x 13 baking pan. Combine the flour and sugar in a bowl and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (you can also do this by putting the flour, sugar, and butter in a food processor and pulsing on and off a few times). Stir ½ cup of the crust mixture into the zucchini mixture. Press half the rest of the crust mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan, then spread the zucchini mixture over the crust. Crumble the remaining crust mixture over the zucchini, and sprinkle the top crust with the other teaspoon of cinnamon. Bake until gold and bubbly, about 35 to 40 minutes. Makes 12 or more servings.