I’m kidding about the Linguini, but it makes it even more fun to say and it sounds like a character from the Sopranos! I invented this recipe simply because I love saying, ‘Zucchini and Tahini’ together and because I like pairing flavors that don’t normally go together. There are worse reasons to invent things!
Ingredients:
2 cups of raw, skinned zucchini
i use a carrot peeler and after the skin is off, I keep peeling away the meaty layers. You can save the “seedy” part for another recipe — see Love Your Leftovers.
You can also cut into small sections
1/4 cup of tahini
1/4 cup of apple sauce
2/3 cup of sugar (organic coconut sugar)
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/4 cup of cooking oil
1 egg or one Vegan egg (1 tablespoon of oil + 1 tablespoon of Flax meal)
1.5 cups of flour
Gluten free flours can be a combination (e.g. Coconut, Garbanzo, rice, etc.)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 cup of walnuts (chopped)
1/2 cup of dried fruit (e.g. cranberries, raisins, cherries)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350
Prepare the zucchini and set aside
Beat all of these ‘wet’ ingredients together: apple sauce + tahini + vanilla + sugar + oil + egg(or egg substitute)
Add in the flour and baking soda
I like chemical reactions and science class, so I often ‘activate’ the baking soda with a squeeze of lemon so it gets all frothy.
Beat these all together so there’s a ‘sticky’ batter
Stir in the zucchini, which softens up the batter
Add the nuts and fruit
Spoon into baking cups and bake for 25-35 minutes, until golden brown
Say it one more time… these Zucchini Tahini Linguini muffins are delicious!