When returning home from a week away to find not only a glut of green courgettes but a giant courgette that would surely win best in show at any village competition, there is a recipe that will work brilliantly to use them up. The classic Melanzane Parmigiana, itself a wonderful use of aubergines, works just as well with courgettes. Made of layers of rich tomato sauce and a mix of smooth, melty mozzarella and the deep, umami flavour of parmesan, it is a winner and surprisingly easy to make. You can even just use tins of passata instead of making a tomato sauce, to save even more on time and effort.
This is my version. Being a classic dish there are many versions and plenty of aspects to argue over, but have fun experimenting anyway.
Enjoy!
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Loading...Ingredients
- For the tomato sauce:
- 1x 44og tin of good quality chopped tomatoes.
- 1 x 500g carton/bottle of passata.
- 4 cloves garlic
- A few sprigs or fresh oregano and/or a pinch of dried oregano.
- 3-5 medium sized courgettes (or 1 huge one and a couple of smaller ones, if your garden has grown like mine!)
- 300g mozzarella balls
- 75g parmesan, grated
- 100g breadcrumbs
Instructions
First, make the tomato sauce. Heat olive oil in a large pan and add the sliced garlic. Cook gently for 30 seconds - so that they don't burn - and then add the chopped tomatoes and passata. Add the oregano, some salt and pepper and leave to cook over a medium heat for around 30 minutes, or until the sauce looks thick and rich. Add a glug of olive oil for shine and flavour and season to taste. Set aside to cool.
The courgettes can be fried or cooked on a hot griddle. Either way, slice them into 1-2cm slices and sprinkle over some salt and olive oil. Fry in the hot pan until they have taken on some colour, around 3-4 minutes each side. Set aside to cool.
Now to assemble. Put a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of a baking dish, followed by a layer of courgettes, packed in quite tightly. Cover with a layer of tomato sauce and some slices of mozzarella, adding some black pepper to the layers as you go Repeat this layering, finishing with a layer of tomato sauce.
Cover the top with the grated parmesan. Toss the breadcrumbs in a little olive oil and scatter over the top for a nice crunchy texture to the finished dish.
Bake in a preheated oven (190ºF) for 25 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the top has browned.
The last part is the hard part: waiting! It is better to wait for it to cool and eat warm, rather than piping hot, which will also help to keep its shape when you cut it. You have to be patient...
Slice up and serve with some fresh salad.
Notes
Don't scrimp on quality with the tomatoes, if you can find and afford them, genuine Italian tomatoes do add a lot more to the finished dish. Treat the measures as very approximate, add more cheese if you like!
