Zucchini Stacks

By kmad

Ingredients

• 4 large zucchinis, approximately 22-24 cm each
• for marinade
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed (juice of 1 medium-sized lemon)
• 1 tsp salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• for cheese mixture
• 500 g fresh ricotta cheese
• 200 g feta cheese, crumbled
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp dill, chopped
• Pinch of salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• for dressing
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 Tbsp dill, chopped
• 6 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• for garnish
• 1 tsp lemon zest, freshly grated
• Chopped dill
• Special equipment: a food processor, a kitchen mandoline (optional)

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from mylittleexpatkitchen.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Wash the zucchinis well under running water and cut and discard the top and bottom of each zucchini. Then cut them lengthwise into 1 cm-thick slices, either by using a large knife or by using a kitchen mandoline which is, by far, easier, quicker and more accurate. Cut the first and last slice a little thinner and discard them. You don't need the rounded parts because you will not be able to stabilize the towers. You will need 20 slices of zucchini for the four towers.

Make the marinade
Put all the ingredients for the marinade in a medium-sized glass jar with a lid, close the lid tightly and shake the jar well until all the ingredients are well blended.
Alternatively you can use a food processor or a blender to do that.

Place the zucchini slices into a large, shallow bowl or a baking tray and pour the marinade all over them. Cover the bowl or baking tray with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. Leave zucchini slices to marinate for 3 hours.

Make the cheese mixture
Place all the ingredients for the cheese mixture in the food processor and process until you have a creamy, thick mixture. Empty it into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to set. It will take 1 hour at most.

Make the dressing
Place all the ingredients for the dressing in the food processor and process until you have a smooth dressing. Pour it into a jar or a bowl, cover it with either a lid or plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator. Just before using, shake it well or whisk it to re-blend.

After the 3 hours of marinating the zucchinis have passed, take them out of the refrigerator and drain them in a colander*. Then place them on paper towels and pat them dry.




Assembling the towers
Take one slice of zucchini and, using a small spatula or spoon, spread 1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp of the creamed cheese mixture over it, creating a thin layer, about 1 cm thick. Take another zucchini slice and spread a thin layer of cheese mixture over it. Take the second slice and place it on top of the first one. Continue until you have created 4 layers of zucchini and cheese mixture. Place a single zucchini slice (without cheese mixture) at the top of the tower and put it on a serving platter or an individual plate, with the help of an offset spatula.
Continue making the rest 3 towers.

Pour the dressing all over each tower and finish by garnishing each one with lemon zest and chopped dill.

Serve immediately.

I wouldn't suggest assembling them in advance because there is a possibility that juices from the zucchinis will run out onto the cheese (even if you keep the tower in the fridge). Besides, it only takes 10 minutes or so to assemble them.

Note: the cheese mixture can be made one day ahead and kept in the refrigerator, in an airtight container.
The following day, I had some leftover cheese mixture and I used it in a cucumber sandwich. It was delicious.






*It's a shame to let all those marinade juices go to waste. I used them the next day to poach two fillets of fish. You can also use them as a dressing on top of a green salad.