Some grated cheese - aged cheddar of parmesan are optimal
Three thickly sliced big delicious tomatoes
500-600g zucchini (about four little ones or three medium sized ones)
Two rashers of bacon
One large brown onion
Two garlic cloves, cut into small pieces
A hand-full of fresh baby spinach leaves
A teaspoon of oregano
Some fresh basil leaves
Lashings of freshly ground black pepper
3 large free range eggs (if you use cage eggs,
you'll be consigned to the seventh level of Danté's inferno - the phlegethon, to be exact, for your violent wickedness)
150g of self-raising flour
1. Turn on the oven to 180ºc. Grate the cheese into a small bowl. Find a nice medium sized baking tray. Line it with baking paper. Use about three quarters of the tomato slices to line the bottom of the pan, reserving the most attractive and complete slices of the tomatoes for later in the recipe. Leave evenly spaced gaps between them. Set the cheese and baking tray aside.
2. Wash your zucchinis and then grate them into a large cake basin. Bigger the better. Slice the bacon and add to the zucchini. Slice your onion into slender segments and add to the bowl. Oregano, baby spinach leaves, basil leaves and pepper - bung 'em all in.
3. Crack the eggs into a little glass or cup to check for freshness. Add one by one to the zucchini basin. Mix all ingredients thoroughly, coating your vegetables in the eggy goo. If there is not enough eggy goo to cover all the ingredients in a fine film of eggyness, you may wish to add another egg or a little olive oil to help coat the ingredients.
4. Add the self-raising flour. Combine quickly and thoroughly, and then tip the zucchini mixture into the prepared baking tray. Decorate the top of the slice with the remaining tomato slices. Sprinkle cheese over the top and pop in the oven for 30 minutes. When the 30 minutes are up, cool in the tray for a few minutes before lifting on to a board and cutting into large squares. Serve hot or cold.
* Vegetarians: Omit bacon and cheese, if you like.
*Other successful ingredients in this slice have been broccoli, carrot slices, cooked spuds, salami slices, mushrooms, kalamata olives and semi-dried tomatoes.
*If you up the vegetable content, add more eggs and flour. I've made big ones with up to five eggs and a cup of self-raising.
*If the pan is wide and flat, it will crisp up more. You can cook bigger ones for a good while longer. The browned bits on top and on the bottom are supremely yummy.
*I thought decorating it with nice basil leaves on top would look nice. Wrong! The basil leaves just incinerated themselves. However, salami slices up the yummy factor and work well on the top of the slice too.
