Dive into a rich dish of zucchini, basil, mozzarella

This summer, my sister, Mary Pat, traveled to Italy on a bike tour. One of the advantages of biking through Italy is that you can eat anything and everything you want and not worry a bit about the calories. Turns out, my sister’s favorite dish was actually a healthy dish of local zucchini, tomato sauce, basil and fresh mozzarella. It was served to her in a generous square like lasagna, but instead of noodles, the layers were made up of thinly sliced zucchini.

Once she got home, she started experimenting and re-creating what she ate from taste memory and of course she told me about it! Before you assemble the dish, you must slice the zucchini with a mandoline and salt it to remove the excess moisture. The slicing of the zucchini, and prepping it for the casserole is a little time consuming but it is well worth the effort. It helps reduce the amount of liquid that cooks out but it also seasons each slice of zucchini making for a perfectly balanced dish. If you’ve made zucchini before without any salt, you know that it has a tendency to be a very bland vegetable, so this step is important. You also need to rinse the excess salt from the squash or the dish will be too salty. And, you need to dry the zucchini.

RECIPE My Sister’s Zucchini Gratinato

Servings: 9 Start to finish: 2 hours

INGREDIENTS

Special equipment: Mandoline or V-slicer

3-4 large zucchini you will fill a regular size colander with thin slices

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup unseasoned crushed tomatoes

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1⁄2 teaspoon herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning

1⁄2 teaspoon granulated garlic

1⁄2 teaspoon coarse salt

1⁄8 teaspoon ground black pepper

3⁄4 ounce fresh basil or one large sprig

1 large ball of fresh mozzarella, about 1 pound

2 ounces fresh Parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler

INSTRUCTIONS

Clean and trim zucchini.

Using a mandoline or a vslicer, slice all the zucchini into thin rounds. Sprinkle with kosher salt as you fill a colander with the slices. Let sit for 30 minutes. Some liquid will drain out of the colander so place in a clean sink or put a dishtowel under it.

After 30 minutes, run cold water over the salted zucchini slices for several minutes and toss the zucchini with your hands to make sure all layers are rinsed. Wrap the rinsed zucchini in clean kitchen towels to dry and drain. You want the zucchini to be as dry as possible. Meanwhile, mix crushed tomatoes with the tomato paste, herbs, salt and pepper. Reserve one cluster of leaves for garnish and cut the rest of the fresh basil leaves into chiffonade or tear into pieces and set aside. Slice the fresh mozzarella into slices and squeeze between paper towels to absorb moisture. Tear into pieces.

Preheat the oven to 400 F and assemble the dish.

Begin the laying process by coating the bottom of a 9-by-9-inch baking dish with olive oil. Lay down the squash in an even layer about 3 deep and make sure the layer is even. Spoon one-third of the tomato sauce on the squash and spread evenly. Scatter the basil, a third of

the mozzarella and a third of the parmesan cheese over the squash. Repeat with the remaining squash dividing it between 2 layers. The top of the zucchini gratin should be the tomato sauce, basil and cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes covered at 400 F.

Remove the foil and reduce the oven temperature to 350 F. Continue baking for another 45 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese is brown. Let sit for 10 minutes and garnish with the reserved basil leaf. Cut into squares like you are cutting lasagna. Nutrition information per serving: 182 calories; 107 calories from fat; 12 g fat (7 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 32 mg cholesterol; 393 mg sodium; 8 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 11 g protein.