Year after year I plant zucchini. I have so many wonderful zucchini recipes to try that I always hope for a bumper crop. Year after year I'm disappointed. I just do not understand how some people can have oodles and gobs of them while I struggle for even one. This year I got lucky. I got two. Two, very large, very healthy zucchini were the entire harvest of the four Buick-sized plants that have overtaken my garden. Deciding which recipe to try was not easy, particularly since I have way more recipes than I do squash, but since Ina Garten has never failed me I chose her recipe for Zucchini Gratin from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and was not disappointed. Unlike my husband, who can take a vegetable or leave it, I could make a meal out of vegetables alone. This delicious dish and a thick slice of crusty bread was all that I needed to have a very satisfying dinner (and having been so virtuous, how could I say "no" to dessert?). I hope you give it a try!
Zucchini Gratin
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for topping
1 pound yellow onions, cut in 1/2 and sliced (3 large)
2 pounds zucchini, sliced 1/4-inch thick (4 zucchini)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup hot milk
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated Gruyere
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a very large (12-inch) saute pan and cook the onions over low heat for 20 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Add the zucchini and cook, covered, for 10 minutes, or until tender. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes. Stir in the flour. Add the hot milk and cook over low heat for a few minutes, until it makes a sauce. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 10-inch baking dish.
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for topping
1 pound yellow onions, cut in 1/2 and sliced (3 large)
2 pounds zucchini, sliced 1/4-inch thick (4 zucchini)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup hot milk
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated Gruyere
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a very large (12-inch) saute pan and cook the onions over low heat for 20 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Add the zucchini and cook, covered, for 10 minutes, or until tender. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes. Stir in the flour. Add the hot milk and cook over low heat for a few minutes, until it makes a sauce. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 10-inch baking dish.
Combine the bread crumbs and Gruyere and sprinkle on top of the zucchini mixture. Dot with 1 tablespoon of butter cut into small bits and bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and browned.
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Yum, oh yum. I have Manchego in the house but not Gruyere. I'm going to try it anyway. I'm sure it will still be delicous.
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