zucchini

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How to Use Zucchini and Tomatoes in a Simple Italian Recipe

August 7, 2010 in zucchini by Simple Italian Cooking Blog | No comments

Two wonderful vegetables which go well together are zucchini and tomatoes.  You can use them in pasta recipes, in lasagnas, or even fry them in a pan of oil.

Today I tried a new recipe courtesy of my sister in law and after testing it, I decided it will make its way into my virtual recipe box which is available for anyone to see.

Instructions:

  1. Ok, so to get started, peel the zucchini and cut off the ends.
  2. Slice lengthwise.
  3. Place a layer of tomatoes on top of the zucchini as shown.  You do not want the tomatoes to be too thick.  I’d say about 1/8th or 1/4 inch should be fine. I’d recommend using Roma tomatoes and if your zucchini are pretty small and narrow, try grape or cherry tomatoes.
  4. Sprinkle plain bread crumbs on top of the tomatoes.

    zucchini-tomato bake

  5. Next, sprinkle a nice layer of Romano cheese.
  6. Drizzle olive oil over top with a dash of kosher salt.
  7. Next, place in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F. for 35 minutes.
  8. The zucchini will still be firm, but not raw.   Serve warm.

When I made this today, I enjoyed them as they were, however my husband preferred his with some extra cheese added on.  So I suggest to make it available.

In regards to serving sizes, I’d suggest 1 small zucchini per person.  For medium zucchini sizes perhaps 1 per 2 people.  It really depends on who you are serving and if they like this type of recipe, and of course if it is just a side dish.

I used this recipe as a side dish to my chickpea soup recipe.

Enjoy!

Liz
Easy Italian Recipes

Zucchini, Basil and Eggs

July 21, 2010 in Food, zucchini by Simple Italian Cooking Blog | No comments

This week I posted another recipe in my recipebox.  It uses zucchini, basil, eggs, garlic, and olive oil, but really – the options are endless.  If you have Italian zucchini, use that for a more mild flavor.

My husband loves to cook up sliced zucchini for our brunches.   He’ll fry up some onion, add in the zucchini and then some eggs.  I prefer mine without the onion and including fresh basil from the garden.

But that is the cool thing about cooking – there are just so many variations.  And hence why sometimes it is so hard to write our recipes down because there isn’t really “one” way of preparing the dishes.

With this particular recipe, I cook the zucchini over high or medium high heat so there is some browning going on.  It takes about 5 minutes, unlike sauteing the zucchini over lower heat.  I like the zucchini a little firm – kinda like al dente, if you can even use that description for a vegetable.  Once the zucchini is a soggy mess – it is still good, but the texture is lost.

Cooking up some zucchini

I like to fry my egg on the side, but you can certainly use scrambled eggs as well.  My husband likes his scrambled, and we use only egg whites to help cut back on cholesterol.

Another variation, is to include some ground beef in with the mix – omit the basil and use onions.  I mean, there are just so many options.

Give my zucchini recipe a try.

Let me know if you have other ideas too.  Would love to hear them.

Liz

Easy Italian Recipes