Yes, that huge zucchini can taste good — if you treat it right. Cook the rice for this recipe vegetable or chicken broth for richer flavor. If you’ve got a 2-pound zucchini, double the recipe and use a 13x9x2 pan. (And if all this is too much work? Make this recipe using just the zucchini, basil, garlic, olive oil, fontina and salt and pepper. Still works; still yummy.) Recipe by Susan Clotfelter. Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
1 big zucchini, about 1 pound
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cooked blended-variety rice or mixed-grain pilaf
1 clove crushed garlic or 1 teaspoon prepared chopped garlic
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
6-10 medium to small home- or farm-grown tomatoes
1/2 pound fontina cheese, cut into half-inch chunks
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (400 if making a double batch). Cut the ends off of your big zucchini; peel it and half it lengthwise. Cut each half into slices about 3/8- to 1/4-inch thick; quarter the slices. Layer the slices in a colander, sprinkling each layer with kosher salt. Set aside to drain for a half hour.
Oil an 8×8 open casserole (or a 13×9 if doubling the recipe) with a teaspoon of the olive oil. Spread the cooked rice in a layer on the bottom of the pan; sprinkle with the garlic bits. Roll and chop the basil leaves; distribute across the rice. Rinse the zucchini wedges to remove the salt. Spread roughly half of them in a layer across the rice and dot with half of the cheese chunks. Drizzle with half the remaining olive oil. Slice, wedge or halve the tomatoes; distribute half across the zucchini. Repeat with the remaining zucchini, tomatoes, cheese and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for an hour or until the squash has slumped and the cheese is beginning to brown. If the squash appears to be getting too dry, drizzle a little more olive oil across the top.
