Monday 17 August 2015

Mellow Yellow

Sformato di Zucchine Gialle con Cipolla di Tropea, Fiocchi di Pomodoro Secco, Mollica, Menta & Ricotta Salata
Yellow Zucchini Bake with Dried Tomato Flakes, Tropean Onion, Bread Crumbs, Mint & Salted Ricotta

 

Super-exciting zucchini for supper! Said no one, ever! Oh, I am being a little sarcastic, I know, but basically, zucchini does tend to be a little bland, unless we decide to shake it up a little!

So this evening, that was exactly what I did! And by just using a few other, simple ingredients and by letting the zucchini indeed take center-stage, I managed to put together a dish that was anything but bland!


 

This is a very low-fat and light dish, with nothing naughty in it, no frying, no nothing that might make you think twice about having a second serving... Or a third... Or simply eating the whole thing, just like I did!

But, who could blame me?!?!


 

Apart from the salted ricotta for grating, you can see everything I needed to make this lovely dish right here.

3 yellow zucchini, 1 gorgeous Tropean onion, a good handful of fresh mint, 1 teacupful of bread crumbs and 1 heaped tablespoon of dried (dehydrated) tomato flakes.

Of course you can use regular green zucchini and regular red onions to make this and it will be just as wonderful... But don't hate me for having the nicer stuff!


 

The great thing about this dish is that it is pretty much a, "nothing added and nothing taken away" kind of affair... It relies on the zucchinis own moisture to steam it an all of the flavors of the other ingredients are captured by the breadcrumbs, which soak everything up and bind everything together- as well as giving it a nice crispy topping- mmmm!

 

To prepare your bread crumbs, add half of the onion, chopped into a fine dice, the mint, also finely chopped and the tomato flakes and mix thoroughly.

 

The only other work that needs to be done is to finely slice the zucchini and the rest of your onion... Make those slices nice and thin now! And then toss together and turn on your oven, to get it nice and hot, whilst you put together your little zucchini construction!

 

Add a little olive oil to the base of your baking dish, scatter it generously with bread crumbs and then proceed to lay out the zucchini slices all the way around, working from the outside- in.

Lay out some of the onion, popped apart into rings, on top and scatter generously with bread crumbs, before seasoning with pepper and grating with salted ricotta.


 

Add another layer of zucchini in the same manner and then top with all of the remaining onion and bread crumbs and goodies, more ricotta, more pepper and a light drizzle of olive oil.

Cover with foil and bake in the oven at 200 C for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and press-in the sides and pat it down into shape... The zucchini will be soft and tender at this point. Return to the oven for 3-4 minutes to brown under the broiler... And you're done!


 

It may not look like much... But let it rest for 10-15 minutes before serving, (if you can) and be prepared to be delighted! Because you will be!

 

And actually, now that think about it... It doesn't look bad at all! he he!

 

It's no wonder that I ate it all!!!

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