Thursday, February 4

Zucchini . Day 3


Love in a dish. This was heavenly, if not crazy! I decided to cook a French meal when i got hone from work last night?! Sauteed diced potatoes (with no duck fat, boo!), sauteed beef, baked ricotta and this! I have finally found a way to get B2 to love zucchini! This zucchini loathing vego will gobble the green stuff up if its grated. Makes all the difference and I have to say, I know what she means.
This zucchini posting is turning in to a little bit of my own year of french cooking ala Julie & Julia. This is Julias' Courgettes au Gratin recipe from Volume 2. Its really really good. I could have eaten the whole dish on my own. Seriously, having too many zucchinis may not be enough.

Zucchini
1 1/2 pounds zucchini
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon shallot, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter

Velouté Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups liquid (zucchini juices plus milk)
Salt
freshly ground white pepper
pinch nutmeg.

Cooking Directions
Zucchini

Grate the zucchini and toss in a colander with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.

Let steep 20 minutes. By handfuls, twist in the corner of a towel to extract juices.

Saute; 1 tablespoon minced shallot briefly in a large frying pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter, then add the zucchini and toss over high heat for two minutes or so, just until tender. 4. Save the squeezed-out zucchini juices.

Sauce

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, blend in the flour with a wooden spoon, and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until butter and flour foam together for 2 minutes without turning more than a buttery yellow color. Remove from heat, and when bubbling stops, vigorously whisk in all the hot milk and zucchini juice at once. Bring to a boil whisking. Simmer, stirring for two minutes season to taste.

Fold the zucchini into the sauce, spread in a buttered baking dish, and sprinkle over 1/4 cup grated Swiss cheese.

Bake in upper-third level of a 400 degree F. oven until bubbling and browned, about 20 minutes

I hand squeezed the zucchini and it may not have been enough. I was trying to cut corners and not use a towel ( why Im not sure??) but consequently, it was quite a runny gratin but bloody good. This one gets an A+++

6 comments:

Veggie Gnome said...

I agree. There's no such thing as 'too many zucchinis'!!

Make fritters with grated zucchini - they are blooming fantastic. Add haloumi or any other cheese to the mix. Delish! :)

Or just make a big fritter per person and serve as a burger. With toppings of your choice.

Will have to try this gratin. Thanks for the idea. :)

Kelly said...

yeah, we do haloumi and zucchini fritters- they are GOOD!!!!

Kale for Sale said...

The picture looks delicious! My mouth is watering. This is one of those times though when I realize our seasons are opposite as it will be months before we have zucchini again. But when we do .... I know where to go for inspiration. Thank you.

Kelly said...

kale -do that! green bechamel is really quite fun!

Zoe said...

Kelly, I made this for dinner tonight with a parsley salad and roast chicken.

I understand about the "Seriously, having too many zucchinis may not be enough.". Anyone suffering the zucchini-itis that always comes should make this. Unbelievable.

Don't know if you ever go to Aldi, but I bought a big roll of chux-type wipes there recently, and put the grated zuke on that to drain then squeezed - worked really well.

Thanks for posting the recipe

Kelly said...

zoe- whoohoo!!!! so glad someone tried it and LOVED it! Its sooooo fattening but soooo good! hmm, maybe tonight...

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