Zucchini Parmesan is like Eggplant Parmesan, but with zucchini, instead — not to mention lighter, fresher, more “summer-y”, and healthier. To ensure its lightness, this recipe doesn’t go crazy with oil, cheese, or tomato sauce. Plus, it won’t require a 2-hour nap afterward or hours on a treadmill.
Link to my pantry tomato sauce.
Here are other zucchini-based recipes for you to explore:
- The Mighty Flexible Zucchini Boats
- Chilled Zucchini Soup
- (Not a) Caprese Salad 2.0 with Zucchini and Mint
- 6-Layer Vegetable Lasagna
- Stuffed Rigatoni
- Savory Zucchini Pancakes
- Zucchini, Red Pepper and Tomato Bake
- Zucchini and Carrot-Stuffed Chicken Thighs
Arliano Update (Aggiornamento Arliano):
As you may have guessed, we have zucchini coming out of our ears. Thanks to more consistent watering levels, plus calcium supplements, our garden is doing much better this year. If I turn my back, the zucchinis double in size every day, and if I miss a couple of days, some grow to the size of watermelons! We’ve been eating them every which way for a couple of weeks now. Thanks to the variety of dishes, I’m not tired of them yet. In fact, I’m sun-drying some slices on our porch now to save for winter stews and soups. Check out the recipes I listed above for more ideas.
Not to jinx it, but our tomatoes are doing the best they’ve ever done to date. Fingers crossed that they don’t get end-rot (known locally as culacchio, slang for “ugly butt” in Italian) like the last couple of years. (We just had a couple of hard rains in a row, so hopefully that won’t upset their delicate balance). In a few weeks our first row of potatoes ought to be ready for harvest. I’m keeping a close eye on our neighbor’s potatoes because they planted theirs a little bit before ours and they have a lot more experience, so I’m trusting their harvest timing.
___________________________
Did you enjoy reading or making the recipe from this post? If so, please consider giving it a “like” or a comment. It would be nice to know you are out there and that my posts connect with you.
Zucchini Parmesan
Ingredients
- 3 medium-large zucchinis (about 2.5 pounds, or 1,134 grams)
- 7-8 ounces dry mozzarella (aka mozzarella for pizza) grated NOTE: Not raw mozzarella, which is too watery
- 3 ounces finely grated parmesan
- 1 1/2 cups (about 355 ml) tomato sauce (my recipe is in the headnotes, or use your own, or store bought — No one is looking, so no one will judge you). You will have extra sauce to place at the base of your serving plates
- Olive oil for the baking dish and to brush the zucchini strips
- Kosher or sea salt (not iodized table salt) and ground black pepper to taste
Directions
- If making from scratch, make the tomato sauce first (my recipe is in the headnotes linked with the words “Tomato sauce”) Or use your own, or store bought. Set it aside to cool
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 F (190 C)
- Thinly slice the zucchini into 3/8-inch-long vertical strips (somewhere between 1/8 and 1/4, just try to keep the slices consistent for even baking). Use a mandolin if you have one, it’s much easier, more consistent, and faster
- Bring a large sauté pan to medium-low heat. Brush each zucchini strip with olive oil and place them in the pan. When you see that the strips are starting to become translucent, flip them over to cook the other sides. It’s ok if they brown a little, but that is not the goal. You just want them cooked through and translucent. You will have to do this in multiple batches, so be patient. Put on some music and have a glass of wine… Set the cooked zucchini strips on a plate with paper towels to absorb any excess oil
- Grate the cheeses and set them aside. NOTE: Don’t go crazy with either the cheeses or the tomato sauce. This should be a light dish, not one that you need to recover from for hours afterward.
- To assemble: Lightly brush an 8-inch X 8-inch (20 cm X 20 cm) baking dish with olive oil, then spoon little tomato sauce to lightly cover the bottom of the dish. Place a layer of the zucchini side-by-side on the bottom of the baking dish and top it with very little tomato sauce, a sprinkle of mozzarella, then parmesan and the tiniest sprinkle of salt and ground black pepper. Add the next layer of zucchini in the opposite direction and repeat topping with tomato sauce, the cheeses, and salt and pepper. Do this until you have run out of zucchini strips. Finish the preparation by topping with the cheeses. Depending on the size of your zucchinis, you should get 3 or 4 layers. ALTERNATIVE: If you happen to have individual serving size baking dishes, you could build each person their own plate, which is a little more elegant. The time in the oven and the rest of the instructions are the same
- Bake the dish covered with aluminum foil for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes or until the cheeses have browned slightly. Remove the baking dish from the oven and let it rest for 15 – 20 minutes before slicing and serving
Greg Nelson Cooks 