Originally I made this recipe last August when I first conquered my fear of whole fish and made pan-roasted porgies with lemon and marjoram. Given that the zucchini season was in full bloom and people were begging anyone to take them off of their hands and the marjoram in the garden was growing out of control, I decided that it was a fine time to make this gratin to serve alongside those beady-eyed fish.
One prepares the zucchini by washing it carefully and slicing it into thin disks. These disks are sautéed until soft in garlic and oil.
The zucchini prepared, you make a simple tomato sauce – oil, onions, tomatoes, marjoram – which is slowly cooked for about 20 minutes. When the oil floats free of the tomatoes the sauce is finished off by swirling in the parsley and pepper.
The zucchini is layered in a heat-proof dish, covered with tomatoes, a sprinkle of cheese, more zucchini, the rest of the tomato sauce, and a final sprinkle of cheese.
The whole thing is popped into the oven where it bakes until the cheese melts and the top browns.
Marcella advises that you should let it sit for 10 minutes before serving – if you can wait that long.
This is an amazing way to prepare zucchini. In fact, I have made this recipe 9 times since I first set it on the able. It tastes that good and the presentation is rather impressive.
We also discovered that any leftovers make an amazing frittata for Sunday breakfast. MMMMM