There's obviously a reason why the humble zucchini slice became such a popular recipe for so many families, for so many years. In fact there's a few reasons in my book: it's a recipe that requires negligible cooking skill (and is therefore very difficult to fail, apols in advance if you have..); it's a meal in a mouthful (bingo! for those coming home late from work with many a mouth to feed); and it's tasty, particularly when it's lathered in homemade relish.
As a kid there was always a stash in the freezer for last minute dinners, the final resort before we may actually be able to convince mum and dad of a trip to the local servo. The local servo you ask? For fuel? No, if we actually got that lucky (yes, I appreciate 'lucky' is not the most appropriate word in hindsight), we were allowed a fried dimmie or two, or a dagwood dog.
Hey, it was the '70's, no judgement!
Well for those of you who are by now sick to death of the humble zucchini slice, I'm here with good news. I've created an even healthier alternative that ticks all the nutritional requirements of a balanced family meal whilst remaining super tasty and very easy to make. That is of course based on the assumption that you can successfully cook quinoa. If that idea makes you nervous, do please follow my instructions to a 'T' below, ok?
Makes 1 large family pie.
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1.5 cups water
1 large sweet potato, cooked and mashed
2 zucchini’s, grated
2 carrots, grated
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup hard cheese, grated
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup currants
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
2 teaspoons coconut oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large handful fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
A good pinch black pepper
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease an oven proof baking dish of approximately 20 cm diameter with coconut oil.
Place quinoa in small saucepan with the water. Bring to a gentle boil and then reduce heat and simmer very gently, lid on, for 12 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Refrain from opening the lid and checking people! Remove from heat and leave, lid on for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Heat coconut oil in a small frying pan on low to medium heat. Add onion and sauté until golden. Transfer into a large mixing bowl and add all remaining ingredients. Stir to combine.
Pour the mixture into the prepared oven dish. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the pie is set and a golden brown on top.
This recipe is a great stand alone dish but would pair beautifully with a fresh garden salad and a big dollop of homemade relish or tomato sauce too..
If you're looking for another simple meal and a great way to use up cooked quinoa, you may also like my Mediterranean Inspired Salmon & Quinoa Fish Cakes.
Don't forget to pin this recipe to your healthy recipe pinterest board or bookmark it for your Sunday baking. Please do let me know what you think when you've made it in the comments below, all feedback is gratefully received.
