Tomato Zucchini Gratin AKA Casserole

Its funny, in my days this was called a casserole... my, my how times have changed! I don't know how I could have forgotten to post this. To me this is the quintessential summer casserole and when I make it, it reminds me of summer and of my days living in North Carolina. In that part of the country, everyone had a signature casserole!

I have many variations of this dish, which hopefully, I will be posting in summers to come. This is a great way to cook the last of this summer's fresh tomatoes and zucchini. I love to serve it with fish, accompanied by yellow rice. It is also very nice with grilled lamb chops.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients
2 pounds fresh zucchini
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons water
1 pound fresh, peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 garlic clove, pressed
Salt and pepper to taste
4 TB grated Gruyère cheese (or more to taste)
3 TB   grated Parmesan cheese (or more to taste)
1/4 cup bread crumbs, buttered


Directions
Wash and thinly slice zucchini. Melt butter in large skillet. Toss zucchini to coat with melted butter and cook over high heat, stirring continuously. Sprinkle with water and continue to cook until tender, yet firm. Remove from pan, and set aside. Pour tomatoes into skillet. Add basil, garlic, and salt and pepper. Cook until slightly thickened. Pour over zucchini and mix. Spoon into a buttered casserole or individual gratin dishes. Sprinkle with mixture of Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses, and top with buttered bread crumbs. Cover with foil and bake at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove foil and brown crumbs briefly under broiler.

Variation

Wash and thinly slice tomatoes, zuccini and onions.  Butter a casserole dish.  Lay one layer of zucchini, one of tomatoes and pne of onions.  Salt and Pepper and chopped basil leaves.  Sprinkle generous layer of coarsely grated Cheddar Cheese.  Repeat so you have 2 layers ending with cheese.  Lightly sprinkle bread crumbs.  Cook covered 375 30 minutes and uncovered at 400 15 minutes until browned.

This is one of my most requested recipes!