Zukes and Cukes: The Recipies

This week I am participating in an awesome new food themed blog series. Away to Garden and Martha Stewart's Dinner Tonight blogs have come together to create Thursday Food Fests, a weekly posting on the wonderful things we do with the bounty from our gardens.

This week's theme is Zukes and Cukes...And on Portland Foodie, I will remind you of a cool cuke recipe and introduce you to a new zucchini and caramelized onion gratin recipe. For gardening and growing information, be sure to visit the post at Gardener to Farmer.

I am so excited to share this recipe for Zucchini and Caramelized Onion Gratin! First of all, it involves cheese and cream, so what's not to love about that...and second of all, it is another way to eat all of the thousands of zucchini that grow from those one or two little plants you started out growing. And if you have any doubt that one or two plants could produce a lot of zucchini, take a look at my plants...

 

Man, take a GPS if you are going in there...

What to do with all of that bounty? A gratin is an easy and incredibly yummy way to enjoy fresh zucchini with sweet summer onions. Here's how it goes...

You'll need:
about 2 lbs of zucchini
1 large sweet onion (we use Walla Walla, here in Portland)
1 c half and half, warmed
1/2 to 3/4 cup of panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere
1/4 cup shredded Pecorino Romano
1 tbsp flour
salt and pepper
nutmeg

Start by caramelizing the onions with a little olive oil. Saute over medium low heat until the onions turn a wonderfully rich light brown. Add sliced zucchini, salt and pepper and saute for 10 minutes or so to reduce the water content in the zucchini and soften it a bit. Add flour and let cook for a couple of minutes, then add warmed half and half and nutmeg, let cook for 5 minutes or until a sauce forms.

Transfer to 8 x 10 baking dish and top with cheese and bread crumbs. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until mixture bubbles and top is browned. Let stand for 5-10 minutes when removing from the oven to allow time to set.

What do you do with your zukes? I would love to hear about it...

Comments

[Colleen/FoodieTots]

Mmm. I make a similar gratin with zucchini and yellow squash, and sometimes eggplant, but I like the addition of caramelized onions.

Our CSA farm grew Walla Wallas this year, such a treat to get them on the East Coast!

[Lisa]

I made this last night and it was delicious and a hit with everyone. I really enjoy your recipes because they are tasty, but accessible and unintimidating to a busy cook!