Zucchini Pan Casserole
Lower calorie vegetarian side dish
Equipment
- 1 pan, saute, 10 inch nonstick, with lid
Ingredients
- 725 g zucchini, fresh Roughly 4 medium size (200g) zucchini
- 25 g garlic, fresh 5-6 good size cloves, crushed
- 60 g tomato, roma 1 tomato, no seeds
- 15 g paste, tomato
- 3 g seasoning, Italian the generic dried stuff
- 28 g cheese, Parmesan the shitty kind in the can is fine
- 150 g onion, sweet small dice
- as required fat, spray-on pan lube spray on olive oil is fine
- 1 each leaf, bay, whole
- 3 g salt, kosher as needed
- 1 g pepper, black, fresh cracked as needed
Instructions
Mise en Place
- Fire up your oven to 400° F.
- Slice your zucchini into disks, roughly 1/8" thick.725 g zucchini, fresh
- Dice your onions150 g onion, sweet
- Get your tomato, paste, Italian seasoning and bay leaf together.60 g tomato, roma, 15 g paste, tomato, 3 g seasoning, Italian, 1 each leaf, bay, whole
- Prep your garlic.25 g garlic, fresh
- Measure your cheese.28 g cheese, Parmesan
Showtime
- Fire up your pan over high heat. When pan is hot, add your spray lube.as required fat, spray-on pan lube
- When the oil starts to take on some color, add your zucchini. Sprinkle with a little salt.725 g zucchini, fresh, 3 g salt, kosher
- Let zucchini sit there and take on some color for about two minutes before turning. Then do it again.
- Add your onions and mix. Let them also take on some color.150 g onion, sweet
- The onions should be taking on more color than they are giving off water. That's good. Lower the heat to medium and add your garlic. Mix to incorporate.25 g garlic, fresh
- Cover for let the veg sweat for about 10 minutes. You'll see water in the bottom of the pan.
- Make a bit of a well in the middle of your zucchini, onions, and garlic and add your tomato and tomato paste mixture. Mix it in with some of the pan water to dilute. Mix that in with the zucchini.60 g tomato, roma, 15 g paste, tomato, 3 g seasoning, Italian, 1 each leaf, bay, whole
- Spread everything out evenly in the pan. Stick it in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Pull it out and give it a good stir. We're trying to dispatch the excess moisture and take on more color.
- Stick it back in for another 10 minutes.
- Pull the pan out and add the cheese, mixing it thoroughly.28 g cheese, Parmesan
- Stick it back in for another 10 minutes.
- Adjust your seasoning and serve.1 g pepper, black, fresh cracked, 3 g salt, kosher
Notes
This is one of those things I do for my wife. While I'm not overly enthusiastic about it, she really digs it and it's low calorie so why the hell not? I'll bring happiness where I can.
The key to this dish is about moisture control. The first time I did it, it started out as a roasted zucchini dish and it required too much oil to get the texture I wanted. The second time, I used less oil but it put off too much water. That's why it's now a "pan casserole" whatever the hell that means.
So the first stage is important. Get some color on there. Scorch the hell out of it without burning. Do likewise with the onions. Add your garlic and lid that bad boy over medium heat for about 10 minutes to pull off some moisture. This does two things:
- It makes it easier for the oven to evaporate it.
- It helps dilute your tomato paste.
Nutrition
Serving: 2servingsCalories: 169kcal
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