This parmigiana alle zucchine is the perfect side for pasta. A salad and garlic bread are always nice but sometimes you need a different side to round out a pasta meal. This dish uses canned tomatoes and is easy to put together before baking. Use fresh basil leaves to top off the parmigiana di zucchine. The basil adds a great flavor and looks lovely when entertaining.
Ingredients and Substitutes
Zucchini: This recipes uses store bought zucchini, usually one and half to two inches in diameter. If you use home grown zucchini those tend to be a lot larger so you may have to cut them into thinner strips or adjust the cooking time.
Canned crushed tomatoes: You can substitute canned diced tomatoes if that is what you have. A jar marinara might also work if that is what you have but it has not been tested.
Onion: Do not skip the onion as it adds a good complement to the tomato flavor. Yellow or white onions will work.
Mozzarella cheese: Fresh mozzarella cut into chunks works great. Any other block or pre-shredded mozzarella should work fine as well.
Basil: This recipe calls for dried basil in the sauce because this is mostly a pantry recipe. If you have fresh basil and want to substitute definitely use it. The best combination is to use the dried basil in the sauce and the fresh basil on top of the parmigiana di zucchini.
Parmesan cheese: The more cheese the better and a great add-on to any Italian dish.
Olive Oil: Also a must have for Italian cooking.
Italian Seasoning: Adds great flavor to the sauce.
Garlic Cloves: Fresh garlic is best for this dish. I you do not have any use garlic powder.
Salt and Pepper: You can adjust to taste.
Red Pepper Flakes: Optional.
How to Serve
- Zucchine Parmigiana is a great side for pasta to make it a complete meal.
- This dish can also be served with rice or quinoa instead of pasta. Try our Turmeric Quinoa recipe
- Serve with bread or soup for a light meal.
How to Make Parmigiana alle Zucchine
Sprinkle salt and on top of the zucchini slices.
Make sure all the vegetables are chopped then preheat the oven to 375. Add oil to the pan and turn on medium to high heat. Once the oil is a bit hot, add the onions. Lower heat to medium.
Saute the onions for about five minutes, stirring every so often. Add the tomatoes, garlic, dried basil, Italian seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and lower heat. Lower heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for fifteen minutes stirring occasionally.
Grease the bottom of the baking dish. Line the bottom of the baking dish with some of the sauce. Use enough sauce to cover the entire bottom of the baking dish.
Line the pan with half of the zucchini slices on top of the sauce layer. Sprinkle black pepper or red pepper flakes if desired.
Add more sauce to cover the zucchini slices. Add mozzarella over the layer. Layer the rest of the zucchini, cover with the rest of the sauce and mozzarella. Add the parmesan cheese. Also add any additional black pepper or red pepper flakes and basil leaves. Bake for forty minutes.
Parmigiana Zucchine | Parmigiana alla Zucchine
Equipment
- 1 8 1/2 x 11 Baking dish
Ingredients
- 2-3 Zucchinis If the zucchinis are thin you can use three. If using in season thicker zucchini probably just use two. Cut into thin slices lengthwise. About 1/2 cm slices.
- 1 28 oz. Can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 medium Onion Chopped into small to medium pieces.
- 2 cups Mozzarella You can alter this to slightly more or less depending on how much cheese you would like.
- 1/2 tblsp Dried basil If you do not have dried basil just add a bit extra Italian seasoning.
- 4 tblsp plus 2 tblsp olive oil. The 4 tblsp are for the zucchini and 2 tblsp are for the sauce.
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese Adjust according to preference.
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp Salt 1/2 tsp is for the sauce. Use additional salt according to taste on the zucchini slices.
- Black pepper Adjust to taste.
- 4 Garlic cloves Minced.
- Fresh basil leaves. Optional.
Instructions
- Brush all of the zucchini slices with some olive oil on both sides. Sprinkle salt and pepper on one side of each slice according to taste.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Add 2 tblsp oil to the pan and turn on the stove to medium to high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the onions and saute.
- Once the onions are softer, add the crushed tomatoes, garlic, dried basil and Italian seasoning.
- Bring the ingredients to a slight boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for about ten minutes. Lift lid occasionally to stir.
- Line the bottom of the pan with enough sauce to cover the bottom.
- Arrange a layer of zucchini slices to cover the bottom of the pan. cover the layer with sauce and add half of the mozzarella cheese. Add about more sauce on top of the mozzarella.
- Layer the rest of the zucchini slices and repeat sauce and mozzarella layering with the rest of the sauce and mozzarella. Add a layer of parmesan on the mozzarella layer. Add the basil leaves if using.
- Put the dish in the oven and bake for forty minutes.
So delicious!