Zucchini slice that actually holds together for lunchboxes

Four zucchini the size of cricket bats turned up in my veggie box last Thursday, the kind of glut you get in late summer when every backyard grower on the Central Coast is suddenly handing them out over the fence. I had two choices: ratatouille again, or finally get the zucchini slice for lunchboxes sorted properly, the way it should be done rather than the wet, flappy version most of us grew up with. I went with the slice. It’s the better use of a weekend and it solves the lunchbox problem for the whole week, not just one dinner.

I’ll say this plainly because it needs saying: a soggy zucchini slice is not a texture issue you can fix with more baking powder or a hotter oven. It’s a moisture issue, and it starts well before the eggs go in. Zucchini is close to 95% water. If you grate it straight into the bowl and mix, you’ve basically added a cup of water to your batter and you’re wondering why it won’t set. Squeeze it. Properly. I know it feels like an extra step on a Sunday when you’d rather be doing something else, but it’s the difference between a slice that slices and one that spoons.

Why this version holds up in a lunchbox

This recipe leans slightly more savoury and slightly more structured than the classic Country Women’s Association style, with more cheese binding than flour padding, and a proper squeeze-out step that most recipes skip or mention in passing. It travels. It doesn’t need reheating, which matters if you’re packing it for a kid’s lunchbox or a Saturday picnic down at Horseshoe Beach where there’s no microwave in sight. Cold, it holds its structure for a good four days in the fridge, and it freezes in individual portions without turning to mush once it thaws, which is more than I can say for most quiches.

The bacon is optional and I say that as someone who thinks bacon improves almost everything. Leave it out and you’ve got a genuinely good vegetarian lunch that still carries enough protein from the eggs and cheese to keep someone satisfied past eleven in the morning. For general eating patterns, the Australian Dietary Guidelines are pretty clear that vegetables should be doing more of the heavy lifting in most people’s day, and a slice like this is a reasonably painless way to get a proper serve of zucchini and onion into someone who’d otherwise avoid both.

Ingredients

• 4 medium zucchini (about 800g), coarsely grated
• 1 teaspoon fine salt, for drawing out moisture
• 1 brown onion, finely diced
• 2 rashers short-cut bacon, diced (optional)
• 6 free-range eggs
• 1 cup (150g) self-raising flour
• 1/3 cup (80ml) light olive oil or rice bran oil
• 1 1/2 cups (150g) tasty cheese, grated
• 1/3 cup (25g) parmesan, finely grated
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• Black pepper, to taste
• A few sprigs fresh thyme or a small handful chopped parsley

Method

1. Grate the zucchini into a colander set over a bowl, toss with the teaspoon of salt, and leave it for 20 minutes. This is the step nobody wants to wait for and it’s non-negotiable.
2. While that’s draining, get a frying pan properly hot over medium heat, add a splash of the oil, and soften the onion and bacon (if using) for about 6 minutes until the onion’s translucent and the bacon’s given up most of its fat. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced) and line a 20cm x 30cm slice tin with baking paper, leaving a bit of overhang on the long sides to help you lift it out later.
4. Back to the zucchini: take handfuls and squeeze hard over the sink until you’ve wrung out as much liquid as you can. You’ll be surprised how much comes out. Don’t skip this twice in the same recipe, once is enough, but do it thoroughly.
5. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the remaining oil, the flour, and a good grind of pepper. Whisk until smooth with no lumps of flour sitting at the bottom.
6. Fold through the squeezed zucchini, cooled onion and bacon mixture, both cheeses, spring onion, and the thyme or parsley. Taste the raw-ish mix with a clean spoon before it goes in, it should taste like something already, not just like eggs.
7. Pour into the prepared tin, spread evenly to the corners, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden on top and set firm in the centre. A skewer should come out clean, not custardy.
8. Cool in the tin for at least 15 minutes before lifting out using the paper overhang. Slicing it warm makes it crumble; slicing it properly cool gives you clean squares that survive a lunchbox.

A serving idea for the weekend version

For a picnic rather than a lunchbox, I cut it into larger wedges and serve it just warm with a simple side salad, something like the roasted vegetable and freekeh salad, which holds up at room temperature just as well and doesn’t need dressing at the last minute. A dollop of good Greek yoghurt with a squeeze of lemon on the side does more for this slice than any sauce I’ve tried, including the tomato relish everyone’s mum used to serve it with. If you’re eating lighter at night, a wedge alongside something like the chargrilled chicken with salsa verde makes a solid, vegetable-forward dinner without anyone feeling short-changed.

The variation worth trying

Swap half the zucchini for grated carrot and corn kernels cut straight off the cob, and you’ve got a sweeter, kid-friendlier version that still squeezes out the same way. I did this version for a school fundraiser at the local primary a few months back and it went before the sausage sizzle did, which tells you something. You could also go the other direction and add a tablespoon of harissa or a chopped long red chilli for an adult lunch, though I’d keep that one well away from any shared lunchbox situation. Cheese-wise, feta crumbled through instead of some of the tasty gives a sharper, saltier result that pairs well if you’re packing it alongside something like the herb and kale omelette with goats milk feta for a weekend brunch spread.

Getting the texture right every time

If you’ve had failures with zucchini slice before, it’s almost certainly the moisture, not your oven or your eggs. I’ve tested this one with both a box grater and a food processor grating attachment, and the food processor gives you a finer grate that squeezes out more easily and more thoroughly, so if you’ve got one, use it. If your slice still seems a touch wet after the suggested baking time, give it another five minutes rather than pulling it early, a firmer bake travels better than a soft one. Nutrition Australia’s general guidance on vegetable intake backs up what most of us already know instinctively, that the vegetables most likely to get eaten are the ones that are actually convenient, and a slice that’s already cut into squares in the fridge beats a pile of raw carrots every time for that reason alone. You can check their current recommendations at nutritionaustralia.org if you want the detail.

Storing it properly for the week ahead

Once it’s fully cool, cut the whole slice into lunchbox-sized squares before it goes anywhere near the fridge. Layer with baking paper between pieces if you’re stacking them in one container, otherwise they’ll sweat against each other and you’re back to the soggy problem you worked hard to avoid in the first place. It keeps well for four days refrigerated, and individual squares freeze flat on a tray before being bagged up, which means you can pull one out the night before and it’s thawed and ready by lunchtime without ever touching a microwave. This is, frankly, a better system than most of what passes for meal prep advice going around, and it costs you one proper cook on a Sunday afternoon.

If you’re building out a week of lighter, vegetable-heavy meals around this, have a look at planning meals around what’s cheap and in season, because zucchini slice is exactly the kind of dish that gets cheaper and better the more of a glut you’re dealing with. Right now that’s zucchini. In a month it’ll be something else, and the method stays the same regardless of what you’re squeezing.

– Dave Forsythe, Golden Door Living kitchen