Zucchini Almond Bread

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. Trim the ends off the zucchini and grate on the large holes of a box grater. Toss with 2 tablespoons sugar and place in a colander set over a bowl.

Let stand 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, finely grind 1/4 cup almonds and set aside. Roughly chop the remaining 1/4 cup nuts and reserve. In a medium bowl, whisk the ground almonds with 1 cup flour, baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon fine salt. In another bowl whisk the remaining 2/3 cup sugar with the vegetable oil, eggs, honey, and vanilla until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined.

Using your hands, firmly squeeze handfuls of the grated zucchini to remove excess water and add the drained zucchini to the batter along with the reserved chopped almonds and lemon zest. Stir a few times to incorporate into the batter and transfer batter to the prepared loaf pan.

Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool in the pan, on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn the bread out of the pan and cool completely on the rack.

Serve.