Zucchini and Spinach Gratin

As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I wanted to make it as soon as possible. I am one of those people who loves bacon a little too much, and I loved the veggies in it as well. I just had a feeling this one was going to be a winner!

It ended up being a great side for chicken and roasted tomatoes, and it worked great as leftovers too!

Spinach and Zucchini Gratin
(serves 6)

2 large zucchinis
pinch of Kosher salt
drizzle of olive oil
6 cups of fresh spinach

4 slices of thick cut bacon
1 handful of fresh parsley
1 white onion, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced

3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, shredded
drizzle of olive oil

Directions: Grate zucchinis in a food processor, and place grated zucchini in a strainer over a bowl. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible, sprinkle with Kosher salt, and allow to sit over the bowl for 30 minutes. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan, and add spinach. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until spinach is mostly wilted. Place in another strainer over a bowl, squeeze out as much liquid as possible and allow to sit for 30 minutes as well.

Meanwhile, heat saucepan to medium high and add bacon. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side and remove. Pulse the bacon and with the parsley in a food processor until it's well chopped and set aside. Add sliced onion to the heated pan with bacon grease and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add minced garlic, and cook for another 5 minutes. Place cooked onion and garlic in a large bowl, and add the bacon and parsley. Preheat oven to 350.

After zucchini and spinach are drained well, place them in the large bowl with the onion, garlic, bacon, and parsley and stir to combine. Add beaten egg and half of the Parmesan to the bowl and combine. Grease bottom and sides of a gratin dish with olive oil. Press vegetable mixture into bowl, and sprinkle the rest of the Parmesan cheese on top. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Enjoy!

Adapeted from Simply Recipes, original recipe here.  

Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons and Cherry Tomatoes

This has to be one of the easiest dinners I've made in a long time. I did find it in a section of "Weeknight Meals Ready in Under 20 Minutes" so I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I still wasn't quite expecting this easy. Not only was it an absolute cinch to put together, it was perfectly timed- the veggies cook in the same amount of time it takes to boil the water and cook the gnocchi. Just throw everything together at the end, and violà- dinner! It had me thinking "is that all I have to do?" which is definitely a good thing :)

It has a great, nutty flavor from the nutmeg and Parmesan, and feels like a great "transitioning into fall" dish. And while it's not exactly time to "transition into fall" quite yet, there's not nothing wrong with being prepared!

Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons and Cherry Tomatoes
(serves 4)

1 lb of fresh or frozen gnocchi (I used whole wheat)
2 Tablespoons of butter
1 shallot, chopped
1 large zucchini, very thinly sliced (I used a golden zucchini)
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 handful of chopped fresh parsley

Directions: Slice the zucchini thin (with a mandoline slicer if you have one), chop the shallots, halve the tomatoes, and chop the parsley. Set each aside separately.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When it's boiling, add gnocchi. Cook until they float, for about 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, while you're waiting for the water to boil, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium high. When it's melted, add the shallots and zucchini. Cook for about 5 minutes, until shallots and zucchini start to soften. Add the halved tomatoes, Kosher salt, pepper, and nutmeg, stirring occasionally. When gnocchi is done, drain it and add to the veggies. Stir to combine, and mix in the parsley and Parmesan. Enjoy!

Adapted from eatingwell.com, original recipe here.

Romaine and Purslane Salad with Tomatoes

I was searching for a different way to prepare the purslane that we had in our produce basket this week. I knew I wanted to saute it, to see what kind of flavor that gave it. When I found the recipe for this salad and saw that it also used zucchini, I knew it was going on the list to make!  

I loved the flavor in this salad, and the combination of the warm vegetables over the cold lettuce! It was very filling, and would even be perfect for a light, summer meal.

Spinach and Purslane Salad with Tomatoes and Zucchini

1/2 of a medium white onion, diced finely
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup of olive oil, plus extra for greasing pan
3 Tablespoons of lemon juice

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of parsely
pinch of salt and black pepper

1 large zucchini, sliced
6 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch of purslane, washed and thick stems removed
1 large head of romaine, washed and chopped

Directions: Pour a little bit of the olive oil into a saucepan, and heat to medium. Saute onions until mostly soft, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, and saute for about another 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Combine lemon juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt, pepper, and parsley in a salad dressing bottle. Shake well to combine. Add onions and garlic from pan, and shake again.

Heat a bit more olive oil in the pan, add zucchini, cover, and cook until soft and slightly browned (about 5-7 minutes) and when it's done, place it in a large bowl.

Add purslane and chopped tomatoes to the pan vacated by the zucchini, and saute for about 1-2 minutes, or until purslane is slightly wilted. Then add to the bowl with the zucchini and stir to combine. Spoon tomato/zucchini/purslane mixture on top of romaine, and drizzle with the lemon Dijon dressing. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Adapted from Epicurious.com, original recipe here.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

You don't think I forgot about continuing my 101 ways to use zucchini now, did you? Don't worry, I didn't- we just had quite a busy weekend, and I had little time for cooking. And since busy weekends lead to exhausting Mondays, I was in search for something easy to make for dinner last night. I had this recipe on the menu for this week and it looked like the easiest to throw together, so this it was.

These were totally easy and filling and healthy. And even though I had to turn on that oven, it was a perfect summertime dinner!

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

2 large zucchini
1/4 cup (uncooked) quinoa
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1 can (15 oz.) cannelloni beans
5 cloves of garlic (finely minced or pushed through a press)
1 cup grape tomatoes (quartered)
1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

olive oil
black pepper
kosher salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 400. Bring water to a boil in a small pot. When water is boiling, pour in the quinoa, lower to a simmer, and cover. Let cook for 12-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, pulse almonds in a food processor to almost a powder. Set aside in a mixing bowl. Drain beans and place in food processor and pulse until they reach a mostly paste-like consistency. Add to bowl with almonds, then add the minced garlic, and mix well.

Cut zucchinis in half lengthwise, and scrape out the insides. Place insides in food processor and pulse to a pulp. Add zucchini pulp to bean mixture, add quinoa when it's finished cooking, then fold in tomatoes, and one half of the Parmesan cheese. 

Line up hollowed out zucchinis on a baking sheet, and sprinkle them with black pepper and kosher salt, and rub with olive oil. Fill with the stuffing, and top with remaining Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes. Uncover and bake 8-10 minutes until topping a golden brown. Enjoy!

Adapted from Cooking Light.

Summer Vegetable Gratin

Welcome to the second installment of 101 ways to use up excess zucchini! I hope you enjoyed that zucchini bread :)

I can't even express to you how delicious this next recipe is. You're just going to have to take my word for it. Or make it for yourself! I highly recommend the latter. It is time consuming, but not at all difficult. And it's very, very worth the effort!

 
Summer Vegetable Gratin
(serves 4 as a side dish, 2 as a main course)

Ingredients:

1 extra large (or 2 smaller) zucchini
1 extra large (or 2 smaller) yellow squash
4 large ripe tomatoes
2 tsp. salt

1 large red onion
olive oil (about 5 Tbsp. total)
fresh ground black pepper

1 large slice of bread (I used regular, whole grain sandwich bread, white would work fine, Italian would probably be awesome)
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese (I used the green jar for this part)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried thyme

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Slice zucchini and yellow squash into 1/4" to 1/2" thick slices and place in large bowl. Sprinkle slices with 1 teaspoon of salt, and stir to mix it in. Pour mixture into a strainer, and place back over the bowl until about 3 Tablespoons of liquid is released- about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, place a double layer of paper towels over a baking sheet. Slice tomatoes to same thickness as squash, and arrange in a single layer on the paper towels. Sprinkle with other 1 teaspoon of salt and let stand for about 30 minutes.

Heat about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over medium/medium-low heat. Slice red onion, place in saucepan with a touch of ground pepper, and slowly let caramelize- about 20 minutes.

Heat oven to about 300, and place slice of bread inside until it dries out a little and becomes slightly crumbly- about 10 to 15 minutes. Grind the bread up in a food processor with the basil, oregano, grated Parmesan, and 1 teaspoon of the thyme. Pour into small bowl and set aside. Afterwards, preheat oven to 400.

Mix the minced garlic, other 1 teaspoon of thyme, and 2 Tablespoons of olive oil together and set aside.

Brush olive oil onto a 9 X 13 glass baking dish. When onions are done caramelizing, spread in the bottom of the baking dish.

When ready, use a double layer of paper towel to squeeze out any addition liquid from the squash, and toss with one half of the garlic/olive oil mixture. Spread the slices over the onions in the baking dish.

Using another double layer of paper towels over the tomatoes, squeeze out extra liquid there. Then, arrange tomatoes in a single layer over squash. Drizzle remaining garlic/olive oil mixture over tomatoes, and bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until tomatoes are drying slightly.

Mix about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil with bread crumb mixture to moisten slightly throughout. Remove baking dish from oven and spread bread crumb mixture over tomatoes, and grate Parmesan cheese over breadcrumbs. Heat oven up to 425, and bake until bread crumb topping is golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.


Adapted from Erin Cooks, original recipe here.

Zucchini Blueberry Bread

Welcome to the first installment of 101 ways to use zucchini. For our first recipe, we'll be making blueberry zucchini bread, which is delicious and moist, and not even that bad for you. Yum!

Ingredients

- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar

- 2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 small or 1 large zucchini)

- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg

- 1 pint fresh blueberries

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 2 regular-size loaf pans.

- In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans. Sprinkle the tops of the loaves with a bit of sugar, to give it a nice crust while it bakes.

- Bake about 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Adapted from allrecipes.com, original recipe here.

New Recipe- Zucchini and Ricotta Fritters

Even though I enjoy really cooking, I tend to struggle when trying to think of things to make for dinner most nights. I do create a meal plan in the beginning of the week, but it's a long, drawn out (and sometimes torturous) process. In short- I lack inspiration.

So I've been scouring cooking blogs lately. And I know this must sound absolutely ridiculous, but I've never truly realized how many recipes are out there that I want to try. I know, I know, have I been living under a rock? Apparently. But I've compiled quite the list and I'm excited to get started with some fresh inspiration.

And without further ado, I present the new recipe of the week... Like quite a few people do this time of year, we have a number of zucchinis on hand. So during my blog-searching, I was looking for something that I could maybe possibly use them up. I came across these Ricotta and Zucchini Fritters on Pink Parsley, and was definitely intrigued.

They were delicious! The only problem I had was that I didn't measure the breadcrumbs (oops), so I probably could have used a bit more, and they would have stayed together a little better.

I served the fritters over a spring green salad with cherry tomatoes, jumbo lump crab meat, lemon wedges, and a simple balsamic and olive oil dressing. It was a delicious, light summer meal. Perfect!