Zucchini as comfort food
A couple of my girlfriends came down from the D.C. area to visit this weekend, and they were not adverse to my cooking for them while here. One of them happens to be a vegetarian/seafood-eater, so I had to veer from my normal menus I serve to company.
One of my favorite recipes to come out of this weekend was a modified version of Giada De Laurentis' Verdure al Forno. It's now known in my house as "zucchini bake."
I changed the original recipe significantly, and I think I'll probably make even more changes in the future. But the result is a supremely satisfying, easy to prepare comfort dish. Made of zucchini, of all things. The biggest difference in my recipe is that it uses shredded cheese rather than grated. I like the melty, gooey texture a lot better. But it's probably healthier to go grated.
Zucchini Bake
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise, 1/4-inch thick
4 roma tomatoes, sliced lengthwise, 1/4-inch thick
Salt and black pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded fontina
1/4 cup grated Romano
3/4 cup plain dried bread crumbs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat the bottom of an 8-inch baking dish with the olive oil. Arrange half of your zucchini slices on the bottom of the dish. Add a layer of roma tomatoes and season with salt and black pepper. Evenly pour half of the heavy cream and sprinkle with 1/2 of a cup of mozzarella, 1/2 cup fontina and half of the Romano. Sprinkle with half of of the bread crumbs. Repeat the layering process one more time, ending with the bread crumbs. (You will have a total of two layers of zucchini and tomatoes.) Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and sprinkle over the top of the dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the top is golden brown.
****
You could easily substitute in this recipe, using squash, potatoes, carrots, eggplant or most any other vegetable that would go well with cheese. Wait, what am I saying? Everything goes well with cheese :-)
