Where I used to live, summer was all about the zucchini. Everyone seemed to grow them and there would be so many that you couldn’t unload them on your colleague or neighbor. If you left your car door unlocked (this was a rural area, so no one really locked their cars), you might end up with a couple in your front seats. Actually, I think this is the only time people locked their car doors. We also used to carve our names in them as they grew and if they got too big, they were kind of tasteless so we’d use them for target practice.
This recipe for Zucchini Parmesan was sent to me by member Barbara Rosen. I’ve modified it to add ingredient amounts and to clarify the process.
Zucchini Parmesan:
This is identical to eggplant parmesan — only I use zucchini. Here goes:
Ingredients:
2 large zucchini
1/2 c. milk
2 eggs, beaten
2 c. bread crumbs or panko seasoned with salt and pepper
1 jar of good quality spaghetti sauce (or homemade sauce)
8-16 oz. of shredded mozzarella cheese (depending on how cheesy you like it!)
1/2 c. of grated or shredded parmesan
1. Mix the eggs and milk together (it’s easier if you beat the eggs first then whisk the milk in afterwards). Mix the parmesan and mozzarella together. Set both aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Wash and cut the zucchini into 1/4″ rounds.
3. Fill a large heavy pan, such as cast iron, with 1/2″ of high-heat oil, such as peanut or canola and heat until a drop of the egg mix sizzles.
4. Dip one zucchini slice in the mixture of milk and egg and then coat the slice with the bread crumbs. Put it in the pan to fry. (If you’re watching calories, you can put them on a cookie sheet to bake at 350F until fork tender. You may need to flip them.) Do the next one until the pan is filled, but not packed with one layer of zucchini slices.
5. Remove when both sides are browned and are fork tender and place on a cookie sheet lined with a paper towel. Repeat with the next set of slices and add more oil as it gets used up.
6. When all the zucchini are cooked, put a little of the tomato sauce in the bottom of an oiled lasagne-type pan. Then put one layer of zucchini down, slightly overlapping them. Cover the layer with sauce and cheese. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Then, add another layer of fried/baked zucchini slices and the cheese, sauce, salt and pepper. Keep going until you run out of ingredients. (If some milk and egg mixture is left, we enjoy adding it to the remaining bread crumbs and frying the resulting “cake” as a treat for the cook.) Top with some grated or shredded parmesan.
7. Put the full pan into the oven and cook it at 325 until the cheese melts and everything is bubbling.
8. Cool 10-15 minutes and then eat!
Optional: Layer in fresh basil and oregano with the cheese to give it extra flavor.
