Shredded zucchini and chopped blanched spinach mixed with onions, sautéed with bacon, parsley and garlic, bound with eggs, topped with grated parmesan and baked.
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
Another week, another fridge drawer filled to the brim with garden zucchini. Sound familiar?
Zucchini has never tasted so good!
I think the bacon might have something to do with it.
And maybe the parmesan. And the onions and garlic.
Fine, everything. The combination is perfect.
The recipe looks more complicated than it is. Most of the time is spent baking or draining zucchini and spinach of excess moisture.
The hardest part is grating the zucchini (a cinch if you have a food processor) and parmesan. The trick to a successful recipe is to squeeze as much moisture out of the zucchini and spinach as possible. If you sprinkle the zucchini with salt and let it drain for half an hour, it will draw out a lot of the moisture.
If you don’t, I suspect you’ll end up with something too loose, with too much moisture for the eggs to do their job as a binder.
best part? The recipe uses two whole pounds of zucchini! Which in our case should consume garden products at least a day or a day and a half. Enjoy. 😉
Zucchini Spinach Gratin
The recipe calls for bacon and I think it’s an important flavor component. For those of you who don’t eat pork or meat, you can substitute butter and/or olive oil (a few tablespoons) to sauté the onions.
ingredients
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2 pounds zucchini
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Kosher salt
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1 pound frozen spinach*
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3 slices thick-cut bacon (about 3 ounces), cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
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1 large onion
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1 handful parsley (about 1/2 cup leaves, lightly packed)
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3 garlic cloves, peeled, roughly chopped
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1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
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Freshly ground black pepper
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3 eggs
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Extra virgin olive oil
- *Or 6 packaged cups freshly chopped spinach leaves, blanched and drained
special equipment
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food processor
method
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Grate and drain zucchini
Grate the zucchini. Toss the shredded zucchini with about a teaspoon of kosher salt. Place the grated zucchini in a large colander (or colander) over a bowl to catch the water, as the salt will help the zucchini shed its moisture.
Leave on for about 30 minutes, then squeeze out the remaining excess moisture with kitchen paper or a clean tea towel.
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Thaw and squeeze the spinach
Thaw spinach, drain while draining zucchini. Then squeeze out the excess moisture with kitchen paper or a tea towel.
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cook bacon
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook gently until lightly browned and most of the fat is drained, about 10 minutes.
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Add onions
While the bacon is cooking, peel and finely chop the onion. Add the onions to the bacon and fry for another 10 minutes until the onions are soft.
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Prepare parsley and garlic (persilade)
While the bacon and onions are cooking, prepare the parsley and garlic. Place the parsley and garlic in a food processor with a small pinch of salt and pulse just a few times.
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Preheat oven to 350°F.
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Prepare the filling
Place the zucchini in a large bowl. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the cooked onions and bacon. Mix in the spinach, parsley and garlic. Mix in half of the parmesan. Taste and add black pepper and more salt to taste. Mix in the eggs.
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Fill the gratin dish
Coat the bottom and sides of a 2-quart casserole dish or gratin dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place the zucchini and spinach mixture in the bowl and set aside. Scatter over the remaining Parmesan cheese and drizzle with a little olive oil.
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Bake
Bake in a 350°F oven for 40-45 minutes until the top is nicely browned. Serve immediately. Can be warmed up well.
Inspired by a gratin recipe from Provence: the beautiful cookbook.
Links:
Zucchini Chard Gratin – from the Local Kitchen Blog
