Zucchini and Spinach Gratin

By Jarr315

Ingredients

• 2 lbs zucchini
• Kosher salt
• 1 lb frozen spinach*
• 3 slices of thick cut bacon (about 3 ounces), cut crosswise 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 large onion
• 1 handful of parsley (about 1/2 cup of leaves, lightly packed)
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 eggs
• Olive oil

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 40mins
Cooking time 100mins
Adapted from simplyrecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

Grate the zucchini. Toss the grated zucchini with about a teaspoon of Kosher salt. Place the grated zucchini in a large sieve (or colander) placed over a bowl to catch the water as the salt helps the zucchini release its moisture. Let sit for 30 minutes or so, then squeeze out the remaining excess moisture with paper towels or a clean tea towel.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add the bacon and gently cook until lightly browned and most of the fat rendered out, about 10 minutes.

While the bacon is cooking, peel and finely chop the onion. Add the onions to the bacon and cook for an additional 10 minutes, until the onions have softened.

While the bacon and onions are cooking, prepare the parsley and garlic. Place the parsley and garlic with a small pinch of salt into a food processor and pulse just a couple of times.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Place the zucchini into a large bowl. With a wooden spoon, mix in the cooked onions and bacon. Mix in the spinach, parsley, and garlic. Mix in half of the Parmesan. Taste, and add black pepper and more salt to taste. Mix in the eggs.

Coat the bottom and sides of a 2 quart casserole or gratin dish with a tablespoon of olive oil. Put the zucchini spinach mixture into the dish and pack it down. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over the top and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Bake in a 350°F oven for 40-45 minutes, until the top is nicely browned. Serve immediately. Reheats well.

I normally love Simply Recipes' recipes, but this one didn't do it for me. Needs to be creamier, I thought. I followed the directions reasonably well, and I love spinach ans zucchini, so I think it's just a preference thing. I'm probably a heathen.

I made this today, and the Potatoes Provencal, all with fresh vegetables and herbs I bought at the Farmer's Market under the freeway. Just finished a plate and it is DEEElicious. I played on it a bit, used half yellow zucchini and half green, and then mixed the parmesan topping with some hand crushed panko and a bit of olive oil. Great dish. I will definitely make it again. Thanks.

Great recipe. I had vast quantities of veggies left over from last week's CSA share. I used zucchini and summer squash. Shredded broccolini to substitute for the spinach. Cut the kernels from five ears of corn off the cob and mixed those in. Used basil instead of parsley. And mixed in some gruyere with the parmesan. It was a big hit. Even the three year old wanted more!

I used yellow summer squash instead, and basil instead of the parsley (what my CSA and farmer's market were full of this week) and added a handful of cracker crumbs in with the topping. It was great, and the leftovers were maybe even better!

I made this with less zucchini (because I'd used it all earlier in the week!) and subbed in some grated carrots. I also added sliced potatoes to make it a main dish.

Made this for dinner tonight and used a mixture of parm and asiago cause that is what I had on hand. YUMMY!

This is delicious! I added shredded cheese and mix it up and added Parmesan on the top. Also I use Callaloo, which is from the Spinach Family.

Wow, oh wow, oh wow, oh wow! I made this for my boyfriend's birthday dinner and served it along with roasted plum tomatoes and bacon wrapped sirloin fillets. I was promptly told I could throw out every potato au gratin recipe I'd ever made and serve this in it's place. It's even reserved for a spot on the Thanksgiving dinner table!

I did this for my big family BBQ yesterday and it was a big hit. I was not able to use the bacon since we had non meat eaters and also used kale and chard (I just cooked it a bit before adding), put it together the day before and cooked it a hour before dinner. In hindsight, I would have cooked it a day ahead an reheated it. Very good recipe, thanks so much for posting it.

I followed this recipe to the letter.Was deligent about draining liquid from shredded zucchini. The gratin looked just like photo but once it was cut into it was liquidy. We did not like the consistency & it was too garlicky off setting all other flavors. I will try again using 2 eggs,less garlic,& a mix of gruyere & parm regg.

I've also thought of a variation on this for a brunch dish, that I want to try: skip blending in beaten eggs; place the mixture in the gratin dish; make three or four little depressions in the mixture and gently drop a whole raw egg in each depression; bake. The veggies will be more like a sauce, but it seems like it should be really good.

Elise - I'm also tempted to turn this into individual souffles. I think using a smaller amount of the veggie mixture, and folding in a couple stiffly beaten egg whites might do it for 4 or 6 ramekins. Have you tried something like this?

I've made this at least four times since you've posted it. Made it a little more decadant, though. Added pancetta to the bacon, cream to the eggs, more parm, and added gruyere. Probably doesn't count as a veggie dish anymore, but it's awesome!! I make it in big ramekins, turns out great.

Sorry, you'll need enable javascript to make a comment on this website.

Email Address: (your email address will not be displayed)

Do you have a website? You can place a link to this page by copying and pasting the code below.

Add to Google Toolbar