I love zucchini, it’s great in stir fry, breaded, raw and in pasta. But I wanted to try something different, so I did some searching and found a recipe for zucchini gratin. The only problem with this recipe is that it takes a lot of dishes. I had a couple zucchinis still from our friend Becky, but I was putting off making this dish until I felt I could validate using so many dishes.
On the day I decided I just needed to make it, so I got home from work and found a spotless kitchen. The dishes were all washed, the counters cleared, things even reorganized for more space! My wonderful husband spent the whole afternoon cleaning and reorganizing the kitchen so that I could have a better working area. He really thought it out and I was so touched.
So that was confirmation that it was time to make the zucchini gratin. I changed some things to work with what I had, and let me tell you, this dish was absolutely worth the clean up. It was so delicious, and even better as leftovers. I think it’s officially my favorite vegetable dish.
I served it with a simple baked salmon with vidalia dressing, some sharp cheddar, and fresh mango.
Ingredients
1/3 cup long-grain white rice
1 large zucchini, sliced crosswise 1/8 inch thick
6 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1-2 large beef steak tomatoes, cut in half then sliced crosswise 1/8 inch thick
1 red onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.
Cook rice according to package instructions.
While rice cooks, toss zucchini with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a shallow baking pan. Toss tomatoes with 1/2 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt in another baking pan.
Roast zucchini in upper third of oven and tomatoes in lower third, turning vegetables once halfway through roasting, until tender and light golden, about 10 minutes for tomatoes; 20 minutes for zucchini. Leave oven on.
Meanwhile, cook onion and garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt in 2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy skillet, covered, over medium high, stirring constantly, until very tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir together onion mixture, cooked rice, eggs, thyme, 1/4 cup cheese, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Spread half of rice mixture in a shallow 2-quart baking dish, then top with half of zucchini. Spread remaining rice mixture over zucchini, then top with remaining zucchini. Top with tomatoes and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, then sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.
Bake in upper third of oven until set and golden brown, about 20 minutes.
