Basil Zucchini Corn Bread 

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 egg beaten

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 zucchini

8 fresh basil leaves

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter  1 medium loaf pan. Fill a small bowl with ice water. Bring a small pan of water to a boil, add the basil leaves into boiling water for 15 seconds. Remove leaves and plunge into the ice water to stop the cooking. Remove leaves from ice water, dry and chop. Set aside.  Take the zucchini, cut off each end. Cut three rounds 1/8 inch thick from one end of zucchini and set aside. Grate the zucchini coarsely, using a box grater, until you have 1 cup of grated zucchini. In a large bowl combine well the dry ingredients: flour, salt, cornmeal, sugar and baking powder. In a separate medium bowl combine and beat buttermilk, eggs and butter. Fold into this the chopped basil and grated zucchini. Pour wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir well.  Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Top batter with the 3 zucchini rounds. Place pan onto baking sheet and bake for about 55 minutes until the tester comes out clean. Cool on metal rack for 10 minutes. When cool remove bread from pan. Serve warm or room temperature.