Last time I wrote about our garden, the zucchini were still in their infancy. Now, as zucchini always does, they're coming fast and furious. This year we decided to grow an heirloom variety called Cocozelle, which are shaped entirely different than the more typical long style. These guys are nearly round when they're grown out!
This past Monday, as a part of our regular Meatless Monday, Cyn put together a side dish that turned out so well I wanted to devote this blog entry to it. It was simple, quick to put together and really tasty. It even reheated well the next day when I took the leftovers to work for lunch.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup shredded parmigiano cheese (almost any good melting cheese would work well)
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 1 small hot pepper, minced (optional, but we like it hot)
- minced fresh herbs (optional - summer or winter savory, oregano, parsley and thyme all work)
- melted butter
- 1 pound of zucchini cut into 1/4 inch rounds, slices, or strips (your choice)
- salt
Preparation
- Slice the zucchini, salt lightly and allow to stand on paper towels for 10-15 minutes. This will draw out some of the natural liquid contained in them, much like you would do with an eggplant.
- Dip one side of each zucchini slice in the breadcrumbs - it will form a nice crunchy base
- Place the zucchini slices on a silicone mat (to prevent sticking) on a sheet pan
- Mix the breadcrumbs, cheese, shallot, hot pepper, and herbs together
- Drizzle a little melted butter onto each zucchini slice
- Sprinkle the mixed ingredients on to each slice
- Cook in a 400 degree convection oven (425 degree regular oven) until the cheese is melted and begins to lightly brown
- Remove and serve hot
These little beauties are crunchy yet creamy, delicious and pretty darn healthy. Since we have so many zucchini in the garden, we spent some time talking about what else we might do with them and came up with a few ideas for future meals.
- Build a Zucchini Parmigiano sandwich (much like eggplant parm) with fresh tomato and mozzarella
- Fan the baked peice out on a plate and position fried eggs on top for a complete meal with protein
- Make a veggie Napoleon with the zucchini, tomato, ricotta and basil leaves
The possibilities are probably endless. How would you use them?
MMM, love zucchini - looks great!
ReplyDeleteMy loving wife and the brains behind all of the dishes you see on this blog informed me that I had some errors in the first version of this post. They have been corrected. Thanks Cyn.
ReplyDeleteThis looks wonderful, Al - and so simple like you said. I love that you grow your own zucchini and what an interesting shape these heirlooms have... I bet they tasted amazing with those crispy bread crumbs and parmesan cheese...
ReplyDeleteThey look delicious! I am always looking out for new ways with courgettes as we are in the middle of our yearly glut. Luckily I LOVE them so I never mind having so many. Happy days....
ReplyDeleteEvery time I see them referred to as courgettes I think of a very fast little dog, you know, a Chevy Corvette blended with a Welsh Corgi. Hmmm, never mind.....
DeleteLol!!! Ah, the old 'you say tomato and I say tomarrrto' chestnut :) So alike and yet so different...thats what makes the world go round!
DeleteLove the recipe! YUM! I have yet to see a zucchini recipe that doesn't look good.
ReplyDelete