Zucchini, Basil, and Cheese Rolls
August 18, 2011 | Print | E-mail | Filed under bread, cheese, zucchini
It seems that everywhere I turn lately, zucchini is in abundance, whether it’s at the farmer’s market, our CSA, or the garden of a friend. Suffice it to say that I’ve received quite a few zucchini over the last few weeks, so after the first few zucchini breads and the batch of zucchini relish I made last week, I’ve had to get a little more creative. One night last week while I was making beef stew for dinner, I had a random thought to try and incorporate zucchini into dinner rolls. I just threw in whatever I had on hand, including some fresh basil from our CSA, and some colby jack cheese since I didn’t have any cheddar. Hubby and I both loved the resulting rolls, which were soft and perfect for cleaning up the remaining stew gravy from our bowls. If you’ve been wondering what do with all your zucchini, I hope you’ll give these a try. I think they’re great to make as the weather begins to turn just a little cooler as we head into fall!
- 1 cup grated zucchini, shredded
- 3 cups flour (plus more for kneading)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup colby jack cheese, shredded
- 2 tsp fresh basil, chopped
- 1/2 stick butter, softened
- 1 cup warm water
Press the shredded zucchini lightly with a paper towel to remove some of the moisture. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt yeast, and cheese.
Stir in the zucchini and basil.
Pour the water and melted butter into the bowl and mix until incorporated. Turn out on to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes.
Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour.
Grease a 9×13″ baking dish. Shape the dough into 12 balls, placing each one in the baking dish. Cover.
Let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake the rolls 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown.
August 18th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Oh my gosh, those look like little pillows of zucchini win.
August 18th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Yum! Those look fantastic!
August 18th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Oh my, these rolls sound incredible!! Great mix of flavors!
August 18th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
Yum! Those look so delicious and flakey! I have to try them!
August 18th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Those rolls are gorgeous Tracy! I love the flavors you’ve incorporated.
August 18th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Looks amazing! Yum!
August 18th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
They look gorgeous!! Will have to try these after our trip to the farmer’s market this weekend. Thanks for the recipe!
August 18th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
Oh my gosh, these are beautiful!!
August 18th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
What a great idea! Not having a garden, I’m not particularly overwhelmed with zucchini, but this recipe and your pictures are enough to send me to the grocery to buy some!
August 18th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
These are so tasty looking! I really need to use up my zucchini so these are perfecto right now.
August 18th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
These look delicious! Another way to use up all that zucchini and basil from my garden.
August 18th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
I hoard good zucchini recipes for when my neighbors inevitably leave anonymous piles of squash on my doorstep… they’ll get it back in roll form this year!
August 18th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
These look so light and fluffy! I make biscuits all the time, and I think grated zucchini would be a great addition.
August 18th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
I love that you put basil in them too, as that is growing in my garden like crazy (along with the zucchini). I’m making these this week!!!
August 18th, 2011 at 7:35 pm
I have been looking for something wonderful to do with my zucchini and I just found it!
August 18th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
We have actually had very little zucchini this year! The groundhogs in my backyard ate my plants (ugh!) and we’ve hardly gotten any from our CSA. Before, I didn’t care too much, but now I’m wishing I had some on hand to give these rolls a try!
August 18th, 2011 at 10:30 pm
How perfectly sweet, Tracy. Look at you, the smart one. These would be amazing with a rustic fall soup.
August 19th, 2011 at 9:44 am
I think they sound quite delicious. I have a question regarding the yeast. The recipe says “in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt yeast, and cheese”. Is it actually active dry yeast or instant yeast? I see that the yeast isn’t being proofed.
August 19th, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Exceptional combination of flavors: basil, cheese & zucchini! We’ve had so much fog this summer, these rolls would be great with a summer soup. Thanks for sharing.
August 19th, 2011 at 9:16 pm
The flavors in these rolls are flavors I’ve never thought about being together before. They look fantastic!
August 19th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
I too have waaayyy too much zucchini. I was just going to be boring and make bread but now I think I’ll make these instead
Hmm…now what would go good with these on the side…
August 19th, 2011 at 10:54 pm
What a unique idea! Can’t wait to try them myself!
August 22nd, 2011 at 2:30 pm
My mouth is watering. What a wonderful, delicious looking recipe. Yum. Come over and visit us. We have a great tomato pie recipe today.
August 22nd, 2011 at 7:45 pm
This sounds amazing! Love the idea of putting the zucchini in the rolls.