Zucchini parmesan, roasted not fried

Name: Zucchini parmesan, roasted not fried
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 lb ripe tomatoes (2 to 2½ lb, any variety); 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 1 small onion, chopped; 3 cloves garlic, chopped; ⅛ tsp sugar; 2 sprigs basil, plus 1 tbsp chopped; 4 medium zucchini (about 2 to 2¼ lb); ½ tsp red pepper flakes (up to 1 tsp, to taste); ¾ cup Parmesan, freshly grated; salt, pepper

All the comfort of the fried original, a fraction of the oil, and no pan spitting at you.

At a Glance

Time

1 hr 30 min

Serves

Story

Roasting the zucchini instead of frying it is the whole reason this version is manageable on a weeknight's worth of patience. Frying means batches, a quart of oil and a stovetop you will be wiping down tomorrow. A hot oven browns the slices in twelve minutes and drives off water that turns this dish to soup if you let it stay, which is the failure every zucchini gratin is trying not to be.

Ingredients

2 lb ripe tomatoes2 to 2½ lb, any variety
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onionchopped
3 cloves garlicchopped
⅛ tsp sugar
2 sprigs basilplus 1 tbsp chopped
4 medium zucchiniabout 2 to 2¼ lb
½ tsp red pepper flakesup to 1 tsp, to taste
¾ cup Parmesanfreshly grated
saltpepper

Method

Eggplant gets all the glory in this format and zucchini has always been the better behaved of the two. It browns faster, it does not drink oil like a sailor, and it holds its shape under an hour of tomato sauce.

The sauce is worth making properly. Fifteen to twenty-five minutes of real reduction is what separates a gratin from a puddle.

Quarter the tomatoes if you own a food mill. If you do not, peel, seed and chop them instead, and you will purée the sauce later.
Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium. Cook the onion about 5 minutes, with a stir now and then, until tender. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant.
Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar and the basil sprigs. Raise the heat to medium-high and, once it is bubbling briskly, stir and drop back to medium. Cook 15 to 25 minutes, stirred regularly, until the tomatoes have cooked right down and are just beginning to stick. Fish out the basil sprigs. Taste and season.
Heat the oven to 450°F and line two sheet pans with parchment. Trim the zucchini, cut them in half crosswise, then lengthwise into slices ¼ to ⅓ inch thick. Season both sides, toss with 2 tbsp oil, and lay them in a single layer on the pans. Sprinkle with the pepper flakes.
Roast 12 minutes, until lightly browned and easily pierced. Take them out and drop the oven to 375°F.
Pass the sauce through the medium blade of a food mill, or pulse it in a processor until coarsely puréed and no further. It wants texture. Stir in the chopped basil.
Oil a 2-quart gratin dish. Spread ¼ cup of sauce over the bottom, followed by a layer of zucchini using a third of it, then a third of what sauce is left, then ¼ cup Parmesan. Do that twice more, finishing with Parmesan, and drizzle over the last tablespoon of oil.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until it bubbles and browns at the top and the edges. Let it sit 5 to 10 minutes before you go near it. A gratin served straight from the oven slides off the spoon in pieces and takes its dignity with it.