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Budín de zapallo italiano
Baked courgette pudding
Budín de zapallo italiano: Santiago's baked courgette pudding with cheese
ChileanIn late summer, when courgettes (zapallo italiano) pile up in Santiago's ferias, home cooks turn them into budín: a soft, savoury bake bound with eggs, milk and cheese, served in squares with rice or a tomato salad for a light weekday lunch. Chileans use mild queso chanco or gouda, which is usually made with animal rennet; choose a cheese marked vegetarian if that matters to you. The big mistake is skipping the draining step: courgettes are mostly water, and a budín made with wet courgette weeps in the dish. Chef's tip: salt the grated courgette, leave it 15 minutes and squeeze it hard in a clean tea towel until it stops dripping.
- Total time
- 65 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ lb courgettescoarsely grated
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 oz butterplus extra for the dish
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 1 garlic clovecrushed
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 ⅛ oz dried breadcrumbs
- 4 oz gouda or queso chancograted; vegetarian if needed
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Toss 2 ¼ lb courgettes with 1 tsp salt in a colander and leave to drain.
15 minStep 2: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan) and butter a 20 × 25 cm baking dish.
Step 3: Melt 1 oz butter in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook 1 onion until soft and golden, then add 1 garlic clove for 1 minute.
9 minStep 4: Squeeze the courgette in a clean tea towel, a handful at a time, as hard as you can. You should be left with about half the volume.
Step 5: Beat 3 eggs with ¾ cup milk, ½ tsp black pepper and ¼ tsp ground nutmeg. Stir in the courgette, onion, 2 ⅛ oz dried breadcrumbs and three quarters of 3 ⅛ oz gouda or queso chanco.
Step 6: Spread in the dish, scatter over the rest of 1 oz gouda or queso chanco and bake until set in the middle (a knife comes out clean) and golden on top.
35 minStep 7: Rest for 10 minutes before cutting into squares, so it holds together.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 16 g
- Carbs
- 18 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does budín de zapallo italiano take?
- About 65 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of courgettes?
- Cucumber, same weight (raw dishes only).
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
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