zucchini dill sliders

The initial version of this recipe, circa 2016, were biscuits split and layered with slices of raw zucchini and a sauce of yoghurt, feta, preserved lemon and mint. The overall format of veggie and biscuit was inspired by the cover of the smitten kitchen cookbook showcasing tomato shortcakes. At the time I bemoaned the hamburger-like look to of my biscuit shortcake stack… but if anything it was foreshadowing the future evolution of this recipe!

With an overabundance of zucchini and dill from the garden, we’ve been making this simple but really nice recipe of seared zucchini rounds dressed in a lemon and olive oil and piled over a thick smear of yoghurt and dill. The zucchini yoghurt combo had me thinking back to this recipe and how I could tinker with it. And while I was initially planning to keep it on biscuits, I took some inspiration from Natasha Pickowicz’s buttered cucumber sliders from More than Cake and decided to go a bun route instead.

I loved the results!

For the buns I used the usual milk bread recipe I’ve been using for Chinese bakery style buns, keeping it very fluffy and slightly sweet. The buns, which bake up to be about 6-7cm in diameter, are the perfect size to house a medium-ish zucchini cross-section. Compared to a biscuit, this version is easier to bite into a eat!

To fill them I’ve used raw zucchini slices dressed in yoghurt and lemon juice. Marinating the zucchini slice seasons them and also softens them slightly so they’re the perfect texture to bite into. They’ll start leaking juices, do leave those behind in the bowl while assembling the sliders. I like a good stack of zucchini so I’ve used about 6-7 slices per slider – it’s enough to make it messy, but still biteable. But you can use as much or little as you like. I’ve layered this with a dill, garlic and yoghurt-sour cream sauce (I had both so I did 1:1, but just one or the other will do!) for a creamy herby accompaniment that somehow makes a pile of zucchini anything but bland!

• Servings: 8
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Flavours and components inspired by Zaynab Issa’s lemony zucchini with sour cream and dill from the August 2023 issue of bon appetit. Slider concept is also inspired by Natasha Pickowicz’s buttered cucumber sliders from More than Cake.

Depending on how many sliders you want you can prepare more or less filling – leftovers make a nice vegetable dish on their own.

marinated zucchini

• about 400g zucchini (two smallish-medium), sliced 3-4mm thick
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp coarse kosher salt (Diamond brand)

dill yoghurt-sour cream sauce

• 60g greek yoghurt
• 60g sour cream (or use 120g total of just one or the other)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 3/4 tsp coarse kosher salt
• good handful dill, chopped

assembly

• 8 slider buns, recipe follows
• extra dill for garnish

For the marinated zucchini, toss the zucchini slices, olive oil, lemon juice and salt together in a bowl. Set aside for at least half an hour while your prepare the rest.

For the dill yoghurt, stir together all the ingredients.

To assemble, slice the buns in half. Spread a spoonful of the yoghurt sauce on the bottom half. Top with about 6 or so slices of zucchini (draining the pieces before adding them) and place the top half of the bun on top. Eat right away!

milk bread slider buns

Makes 12 buns total. Bun dough adapted from Christine’s Recipes.

tangzhong

• 64g water
• 13g flour

dough

• slightly generous 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 tbsp warm water
• 50g milk
• 15g cream
• 30g egg
• 190g all-purpose flour + 6g wheat gluten (or 196g bread flour)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 25g granulated sugar
• 22g soft butter
• beaten egg for egg wash
• sesame seeds and poppy seeds (or seed of choice), for sprinkling on top

To make the tangzhong, whisk together the flour and water in a small saucepan until there are no lumps. Heat over low-medium, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until the mixture thickens into a thin paste and lines are left in the roux behind when stirring (check by stirring without touching the bottom of the saucepan). If you have a thermometer, check the temperature – it should be 65C or 149F. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl to cool.

For the dough, mix together the yeast, tbsp of water and a sprinkle of sugar. Allow to sit 5 minutes until it bubbles and smells yeasty.

Whisk the milk, cream and egg into the tangzhong. Meanwhile in the bowl of a standmixer, stir together the flour, wheat gluten, sugar and salt. Add the dissolved yeast and tangzhong mixture. Mix slowly with the dough hook to form a cohesive dough. Add the butter and work into the dough until smooth. Knead on medium-high speed for about 10 minutes or until the dough is very smooth and elastic.

Cover and then let rest until doubled, about an hour or so

Line a quarter baking tray (or 9×13″ baking pan) with a parchment paper sling, buttering the exposed sides.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and deflate it. Cut into 12 portions, each about 33g. Shape each into a ball. To tighten the surface tension, you can cup your hand over the ball of dough as it sits on the countertop and move your hand in a tight circle.

Arrange the balls of dough 4 by 3 on the prepared tray. Lightly dust your hand with flour and flatten each ball a bit. Cover with plastic and let rise until puffed and slightly touching each other, another hour.

Near the end of the rise start preheating the oven to 375F. Brush the tops of the buns with beaten egg and sprinkle with seeds. Bake for about 15 minutes, rotating partway through baking, or until buns are nicely browned.

Updated Aug 2023.