zucchini gratin Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Our garden is producing wonderful things and I’m inspired daily to use everything we pick. Winter comes all too soon here and it’s going to be really sad to say goodbye to all this freshness! So for now I give you my version of a gratin.

I like to make this in a wide pan, I use this paella pan that I have, I’m sure you’ve seen it in many of my posts, but I love it I can’t help it! I’m sure a cast iron pan would work as well.

First layer; Sweet Vadalia onion ring slices on a nice drizzle of olive oil ( the pan I use gets them all caramelized on the bottom)

Sliced zucchini

Handfull of romano cheese spread all over

Toasted homemade Italian bread crumbs spread about

Small cherry tomatoes placed all around

I had some cut leeks I needed to use so I threw them in, glad I did!

Drizzle with olive oil

More cheese

More breadcrumbs

Repeat!

Garnish with fresh snipped basil

Place in a hot oven at 425 till tender and crispy and the tomatoes pop and get caramelized, you could even place it under the broiler at the end to crisp up the top more, I have a convection roast feature on my stove so that always does the trick.

The imported romano cheese, the tomatoes ( you must use cherry tomatoes, please) the homemade breadcrumbs and those caramelized onions paired with the zucchini, I’m telling you I could almost become a vegetarian!

But instead I made more of that beautiful cod along side it. I saw this preparation on the cable TV show, Every Day Food, it’s so simple but BURSTING with flavor! Chop up some fresh herbs, I used basil, chives and parsley, now grate some fresh lemon zest into the mix. Salt and pepper your fish and swipe the top with Dijon mustard, now press it down into the herb mixture and of course drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 425 till translucent. This…Was…Fabulous! The fresh herbs complemented the fish so well, so light, so summer!

Now for a little palette cleanser, how about some Key Lime Pie. Sorta. You see my husband and I are crazy about key lime pie, but living here in Chicagoland key limes are not readily available so I never even thought about making this, until I saw Pioneer Woman’s post on it.

She calls it Key Lime Pie, Sorta because she uses regular limes not key limes, no problem here because I just bought 20 limes for $1.00! So I was inspired. I won’t even tell you how many times I’ve made it this summer, we crave it! I know it’s not the so called “real thing” but it’s darn close!

So before summer is over all you key lime pie lovers, you MUST make this! So here’s the recipe.

Note: From my guilt of making this so often I used reduced fat condensed milk and I even bought a reduced fat graham cracker crust and the result was just as good. I would encourage you to try her version first, but if you go past 3 pies like I did, you might want to think about switching things up! It’s so refreshing on a hot summer day.

Enjoy your weekend and Buon Appetito!

Oh, next week August 15Th is my 3 year Blogiversary I hope you can stop by for a visit, I have a nice giveaway too!