As you can see in the last entry, I have quite a few veggies on my hand. In an effort to cook with them and waste as little as possible (advice, please!), I wanted to make something that would use quite a few tonight for dinner. This recipe took me about 2 hours and involved me being pretty darn hot in my kitchen for a lot of it (when I'm cooking, I just keep my a/c off and the windows open and fan on; save the electricity costs and I'll be hot regardless). The biggest "failure" of the recipe was the rice - but that is because, try as I might (and I do, oh I do), I am so bad at cooking rice. Every time I read someone's foolproof recipe and try my darndest to follow it exactly, but it still burns. At best, it's a bit soggy and I'm just thrilled it doesn't taste like burned popcorn. Tonight was more of a burned night. So that brought the dish down a bit to have slightly crispy, burnt popcorn flavored rice. One day I will prevail!
I love love love roasted veggies, though, and I could probably have eaten them all right off the sheet after the oven (so good), so that part of the recipe went well. I didn't have enough cheese for it to be really cheesy, so I added in a bit of my whole organic yogurt instead of cheese to the egg mixture and then just grated some cheese on top. I also didn't have tomatoes (I sure as heck wasn't going to buy more veggies), and so while that certainly changed the recipe, I don't think it was really a negative effect. I wouldn't recommend using the cast iron skillet to cook it in, but I just was overrun with dirty dishes and didn't care. I am sure the recipe as she has it is delicious and one day I hope to make it. But this was good and different, and I enjoyed giving it a try in between crying over the Olympics (I'm just such a sucker for sports).
1/3 cup white rice, long-grain is suggested but use whatever you prefer
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds zucchini (about 3 medium), sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/2 pound plum tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
Table salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, divided
Preheat oven to 450°F. Cook the rice according to your favorite method. The package directions work in some cases, but check my notes above about adjustments I find I have to make. If you cook the rice in a large, wide-ish covered skillet, it might cook even faster but you’ll have the chance to use it again (and save on dirty dishes) when you need to cook the onions in a bit.
While rice cooks, coat two large (or, if you have the same pitifully small oven as I do, three smaller) baking sheets each with a tablespoon of a of olive oil (a bit less for smaller pans). Spread zucchini and tomato slices on the baking sheets in as close to a single layer as you can. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Roast tomatoes for 10 minutes and zucchini for 20. Flip zucchini halfway through; it’s not worth the messy effort for the tomatoes. Leave oven on.
Heat large, heavy skillet (such as the one you used to cook your rice) over medium heat. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, heat oil, then add onions, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt to pan. Cover and reduce heat to low, cooking onion until limp and tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Combine onion mixture, rice, eggs, thyme, half of your grated cheese and a half-tablespoon of olive oil in a bowl. Add a good amount of freshly ground black pepper. Use the remaining half-tablespoon of olive oil to coat a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Spread half of rice mixture in bottom of dish. Arrange half of roasted zucchini on top. Spread remaining rice mixture over it and please don’t worry about being neat about this; dinner will be “rustic” tonight! Arrange remaining zucchini on top, then tomato slices. Sprinkle with remaining grated cheese and bake until set and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Each oven varies, but I find mine does the very best browning when the dish is on a rack near the top of the oven.
I love love love roasted veggies, though, and I could probably have eaten them all right off the sheet after the oven (so good), so that part of the recipe went well. I didn't have enough cheese for it to be really cheesy, so I added in a bit of my whole organic yogurt instead of cheese to the egg mixture and then just grated some cheese on top. I also didn't have tomatoes (I sure as heck wasn't going to buy more veggies), and so while that certainly changed the recipe, I don't think it was really a negative effect. I wouldn't recommend using the cast iron skillet to cook it in, but I just was overrun with dirty dishes and didn't care. I am sure the recipe as she has it is delicious and one day I hope to make it. But this was good and different, and I enjoyed giving it a try in between crying over the Olympics (I'm just such a sucker for sports).
1/3 cup white rice, long-grain is suggested but use whatever you prefer
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds zucchini (about 3 medium), sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/2 pound plum tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
Table salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, divided
Preheat oven to 450°F. Cook the rice according to your favorite method. The package directions work in some cases, but check my notes above about adjustments I find I have to make. If you cook the rice in a large, wide-ish covered skillet, it might cook even faster but you’ll have the chance to use it again (and save on dirty dishes) when you need to cook the onions in a bit.
While rice cooks, coat two large (or, if you have the same pitifully small oven as I do, three smaller) baking sheets each with a tablespoon of a of olive oil (a bit less for smaller pans). Spread zucchini and tomato slices on the baking sheets in as close to a single layer as you can. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Roast tomatoes for 10 minutes and zucchini for 20. Flip zucchini halfway through; it’s not worth the messy effort for the tomatoes. Leave oven on.
Heat large, heavy skillet (such as the one you used to cook your rice) over medium heat. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, heat oil, then add onions, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt to pan. Cover and reduce heat to low, cooking onion until limp and tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Combine onion mixture, rice, eggs, thyme, half of your grated cheese and a half-tablespoon of olive oil in a bowl. Add a good amount of freshly ground black pepper. Use the remaining half-tablespoon of olive oil to coat a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Spread half of rice mixture in bottom of dish. Arrange half of roasted zucchini on top. Spread remaining rice mixture over it and please don’t worry about being neat about this; dinner will be “rustic” tonight! Arrange remaining zucchini on top, then tomato slices. Sprinkle with remaining grated cheese and bake until set and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Each oven varies, but I find mine does the very best browning when the dish is on a rack near the top of the oven.
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