Friday Night Dinner On The Deck...Crispy And Cheesy Zucchini

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Friday night is my favorite time to cook dinner.  Even when I worked,  it was a time to take out the pots and pans and cook something special perhaps in celebration of two days of R & R!  Now that I am retired I go at it with gusto and try to make it fun for my daughter and me.

Last night was the first Friday in a long time that we have not had a downpour.  The weather this year in this part of the country has been bad for those who work and look forward to a weekend at the lake.  Heavy rain and tornado warnings have been the order of the day and a couple of times already we have sat in front of the TV waiting for the sign to go down to the basement.  Yikes, and I thought hurricanes were bad...at least you get plenty of warning.  The only ones enjoying this weather have been the flowers in the garden; that is, except for the geraniums whose leaves turn brown from so much water.

One of my favorite dishes with steak is zucchini.  I have several ways of preparing them in the summer, usually in combination with tomatoes and onions and basil, of course.  Last night I decided I wanted them simple, crispy and with a little cheese, given the fact that my daughter had already asked for a cauliflower gratin and grilled potobellos.  You should see the amount of Parmeggiano Regiano we go through in this house!

There really is no recipe for making zucchini in this simple way;  but make plenty,  for once cooked they seem to evaporate!

If you are having company for dinner make a strawberry tart for dessert!

For 2 people

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice 2 zucchinis in fairly thin rounds.  Sprinkle some fresh oregano, salt and pepper.

In a skillet melt 1 TB butter and 2 TB olive oil.  Add 2 cloves of garlic, mashed and thinly sliced.  Sautee until golden and remove to a plate.  Add the zucchini rounds in a single layer and cook undisturbed until browned .  Flip and do the same on the other side.  Remove to a plate.  Cook the rest of the zucchini and if you need to add more butter and olive oil do so but sparingly.  Once all the zucchini are browned transfer to a gratin dish. Sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese and drizzle the oil from the pan over the cheese.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until browned on top.

Stuffed Zucchini Provencal Style

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After a long Memorial Day Weekend of drinking, eating and entertaining, this was the perfect meal for a quiet Sunday dinner. Let's just say it was the healthy alternative to macaroni and cheese .  You really don't need anything else, except maybe a bottle of Chianti Classico and a leftover piece of the Almond Cake With Berries.

In my search for the perfect recipe, I knew I wanted something with tomatoes, but not necessarily a tomato sauce.  Ripe Italian tomatoes are the perfect choice but no matter what kind you use, make sure you squeeze out as much liquid as possible before you add to the stuffing.  Same with the zucchini.

Sausage is the perfect meat for this dish and ground pork should work also.  Whatever you do, don't try substituting ground turkey.   Zucchinis are on the bland side and need something with character to complement the rest of the ingredients.  I used more cheese than the recipe called for and perhaps next time I will make them with Gruyere instead of Mozzarella so I can truly call it Gourgettes Farcies a la Provencal.. sounds more elegant than Stuffed Zucchini, n'est ce pas?

And in case you are watching your Wheat Belly, not an ounce of the stuff in this recipe!

Crispy Zucchini Gratin

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When I saw this I knew it had to get made and posted...a real zucchini gratin!  Last year, I jokingly called a casserole a gratin seeing that hardly anyone ever uses that term anymore.  Well, whatever you want to call it, this recipe is different and a winner. I have added some basil, onions and Parmesan Cheese to the original recipe as it seemed to need some extra flavor and these are traditional ingredients used with zucchini.  I know, I promised no more zucchini but the crop is almost over, really.

I love zucchini with fish...try it with Grilled Swordfish With Capers And Lemon Butter. 

Printable Recipe

Total time: 30 to 60 minutes

Preparation: 15 minutes

Baking time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy


Ingredients

For 4 servings

-  18 oz. zucchini

- 1 small onion sliced*

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 2 large or 3 small eggs

- 1 cup heavy cream

- 5 tsp. butter

- 1 Tbsp. olive oil

- (3 1/2 oz.) coarse homemade bread crumbs

- salt and pepper

- Basil (optional)*

- Parmiggiano Reggiano (optional)*


Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F).

2. Slice the zucchini and onion and sauté in olive oil in a skillet with the garlic and some chopped basil for about 10 minutes. When the zucchini and onion slices are lightly browned, spread them in a gratin dish. First the succhini then the onions.

3. In a bowl, beat the eggs, then mix in the cream, salt and pepper. Add a TB or 2 of Parmesan if you like. Pour over the zucchini.

4. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and dot with butter.

5. Bake for about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Adapted from The Worldwide Gourmet

*new added

Tomato Zucchini Gratin AKA Casserole

Pin It 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!