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I'm on a minor mission to work more fresh veggies into my diet, and it seems particularly satisfying to be able to squeeze some in during the first meal of the day. Enter this wholesome toast topped with shredded zucchini. Bonus: this works with sourdough, whole wheat, pumpernickel, whatever—maybe even an everything bagel? So, hey, variety is built right in.
It's worth noting that since this is such a simple dish, the more flavorful your zucchini, the better this toast will be, so keep this one in mind when summer's finest is overflowing at the market. But you won't rely entirely on your zucchini for flavor, of course. You'll enrich your shredded veg with a little mashed avocado, a sprinkle of salt and black pepper, lemon (both zest and juice), and to finish with extra satiety and salt, a generous dose of coconut bacon. Good morning, right?
And note that you can prepare the coconut bacon in advance to make this recipe extra morning-friendly.
Dead Simple Zucchini Toast with Avocado, Lemon Zest & Coconut Bacon
serves 2
1 small-medium zucchini, washed and ends trimmed
4 slices bread of choice
1 ripe avocado, halved and pitted
1 lemon
1/4 tsp fine sea or kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 recipe Stovetop Coconut Bacon, recipe follows
Grate zucchini until you have 2/3 cup, loosely packed. Add zucchini to a mixing bowl and set aside.
Toast or grill bread. Meanwhile, roughly score the avocado flesh, still in the skin, into dice. Scoop flesh into mixing bowl. Rather than cutting the lemon in half, cut off just one third and set the larger portion aside. Measure out 1 tsp of juice from smaller portion and add to mixing bowl. Add salt to mixing bowl and use a fork to mash the avocado, mixing in the zucchini and seasonings as you go.
Divide zucchini mixture evenly among toast. Crack pepper generously over top, to taste. Zest larger portion of lemon generously over top, to taste (the lemon can be juiced after zesting, so reserve for another purpose). Divide coconut bacon evenly over toasts and serve at once.
Stovetop Coconut Bacon
yields 1/4 cup, adapted from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
1 tsp reduced-sodium tamari
1 tsp liquid smoke
1/4 tsp maple syrup, grade B preferred
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. In the skillet, combine tamari, liquid smoke, and maple syrup. The second it begins to boil, sprinkle coconut over and stir until thoroughly mixed. Continue cooking for a few minutes—stirring every 30 seconds—until coconut absorbs all liquid, the skillet becomes dry, and coconut just begins to crisp in spots. Your nose is your best guide. When it smells deeply toasted and just shy of burning, quickly remove from heat and immediately transfer to a plate, spread out in a single layer. Coconut will continue to crisp as it cools. Store leftovers in an airtight container with a clean absorbent cloth (to keep it from going soggy).