Another idea inspired by me playing around with the weekly meal plan recipes.
My Irishman isn’t eating eggplant at the moment because of the FODMAPS situation.
But I really felt like the eggplant parmigiana in the meal plan.
Hey presto, zucchini parm!
Don’t tell the purists, but I actually like this zucchini version more because the zucchini goes all buttery when it cooks down.
Zucchini Parmigiana
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchini (courgette) 800g / 28oz
- 100 g almond meal (almond flour) (3.5oz)
- 1/2 cup tomato passata / puree
- 200 g bocconcini or mozzarella cheese (7oz)
- 50 g grated parmesan cheese (2oz) and extra to serve
- salad to serve
Instructions
- Turn your oven to 250C (480F). Slice zucchini into rounds about 1cm (1/2in) thick. Place in a baking dish, drizzle with a little oil, sprinkle over a little salt and roast for 20 minutes.
- Stir and add almond meal. Stir again so some of the almond meal gets mixed in but most stays on top.
- Pour over the tomato. Top with torn chunks of bocconcini. Sprinkle over Parmesan.
- Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden. Serve with salad.
Nutrition
WINE MATCH: An Italian red like Chianti or Sangiovese.
Variations & Substitutions
keto / ultra low carb – replace 1/2 the zucchini with baby spinach (toss in before adding cheese). Use half the almond meal. Replace bocconcini with extra grated Parmesan.
no boccomcini – any good melting cheese like cheddar, tasty, emmental, gruyere. Or Parmesan.
dairy-free – serve roast zucchini and tomato with almond hummus, cauliflower hummus or broccoli hummus. And roast nuts like almonds, walnuts or macadamias.
more substantial (carb lovers) – serve over cooked pasta, couscous or quinoa, flat bread, pita or tortillas.
more substantial (low carb) – serve with ham, prosciutto, roast nuts, chunks of avocado, almond bread or fried eggs.
low FODMAP / nut-free – use ground sunflower seeds or soft bread crumbs.
different vegetables – eggplant, bell peppers (capsicum), cherry tomatoes would be my first choices. But any roast veg will work. I think I’ll try a cauliflower parm’ this winter. And cabbage… mmmummm cabbage!
different protein / carnivore – see the dairy-free ideas. You could add crumbled sausages or boneless chicken with the zucchini. Its also brilliant with ham, prosciutto, bacon or a fried egg.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
zucchini – will keep for 2 weeks or longer in a plastic bag in the fridge. To keep it even longer, cook sliced zucchini in a little butter until just soft then store in an airtight container in the fridge.
almond meal / tomato passata or puree – keep them in the pantry.
bocconcini or mozzarella – freeze them.
Parmesan – keeps for longer in a chunk so only grate when you’re cooking. I wrap in waxed paper or baking paper and then keep in an airtight container or a sealed ziplock bag. I prefer this over just wrapping in cling wrap because the air in the container allows the cheese to breathe and not sweat but the container / plastic bag prevents from drying out in the dry fridge air. Either way will keep for months.
salad leaves – are highly perishable. My first path would be to use them for another meal (salad for breakfast!) but if that isn’t possible you can pop them in the freezer. They will wilt down but can then be used anywhere you’d use wilted greens. At least this way they won’t go slimy.
Problem Solving Guide
bland – more salt! More parmesan! Or try some hot sauce or chilli oil.
too dry / burnt – oven too hot or you left it in too long. Scrape off and discard the worst burnt bits and give everything some extra grated parmesan and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
watery – zucchini release quite a bit of liquid as they cook. If there is too much water is means your pan was too small. For now just drain the liquid off and discard. Next time
no oven – Cook zucchini, tomato and almond meal in a saucepan to make a tomato and vegetable stew. When the zucchini is soft, stir in torn bocconcini / mozzarella and cook for another minute so it can warm and soften. Serve with grated parmesan on top.
Prepare Ahead
Yes! Just cook as per the recipe but keep the salad separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, warm in the oven 250C / 480C for 15 minutes or until everything is hot.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
This recipe arrived at the perfect time- the morning before my veggie delivery, I had an end of whole grain bread, 1 zucchini, a wedge of cabbage, a knob of parmesan, and even half a jar of passata, all waiting to be put to good use. I added a few Greek olives before topping with mozzarella. Hope I’ll be lucky enough to have this combination magically waiting in my fridge again soon.
Ingredient serendipity Murphy! LOVE it!
I substituted 2 small capsicums for 1 of the zucchinis, and breadcrumbs for the almond meal. I then added a few walnuts to bulk up the result, but could have easily used more. Even with plenty of cheese on top, it was a bit insubstantial, if tasty.
Breadcrumbs aren’t as filling as almonds Mark – sounds like you needed more walnuts 🙂
I had the leftovers with some walnuts that I’d fried separately, and that was much more filling. I’ll bear the combination of breadcrumbs and walnuts in mind in future, because I find the texture much more pleasant than that of almond meal, which is just gritty.
This time I had about equal thirds of zucchini, capsicum and mushroom for the vegetables, about 1 cup of passata, tasty cheese instead of bocconcini, and 50g of crushed walnuts and 50g of ground sunflower seeds as well as breadcrumbs, which was decently filling.
ooh I’m digging the sound of a mushroom parm – brilliant!
I also had an avocado as entree before rather than with this.
This time I cooked zucchini and carrot, and used cheddar in place of the mozzarella, and went full on replacing the almond meal with 150g of walnuts crushed with a rolling pin. Good and filling.
Good to know walnuts work here MArk
We generally don’t like zucchini or eggplant. Except breaded and fried, which isn’t especially healthy! I tried this recipe thinking it might crisp up or brown a bit in the oven, but it didn’t. I used the correct temp. (would be helpful if you provide baking pan size in recipes. I used 9 x 12″, but the zuke still was more like steamed rather than roasted) I liked the flavors, but hubby preferred we not make this one again 🙁
The zucchini doesn’t ever crisp in the oven Nikki – it has too much moisture. You could brown it before adding the tomato if you wanted it less steamed – but sounds like you need to try other non-zucchini recipes 🙂
And thanks for the suggestion re baking pan sizes – I’ve started giving dimensions in newer recipes – good to know they are appreciated!
Was like pizza night – very tasty and will def be making again.
Fantastic Anna!
Delicious! Loads of zucchini at the moment so a very useful recipe. I substituted the remains of a tomato pasta sauce for the Passats and it worked well.
I love having loads of zucchini too Trish!
This dish was so good! I only had a couple of courgettes so I also added mushrooms ( which I just halved) and I put a low fat mozzarella on top of Parmesan. It was delicious! I’m looking forward to making it again with aubergine (eggplant), red pepper or maybe cauliflower!
Thanks again Jules!
ooh Kathy! Mushroom Parm sounds amazing – as does cauliflower which is already on my list of things to try. Great minds 🙂
I made this last night and it was a success! Yea….My husband is as excited as I am that I have joined this program.
Looking for the next week night meal now!
So glad you’re both happy Arletta 🙂
Oh my gosh! It tasted just like parmigiana! Awesome ? I used one zucchini that was in the fridge for weeks, adjusted quantities accordingly, used garbanzo flour, and shredded cheese on hand. Delicious ?
oh yum Chreyl! And good to know chickpea flour works as well.
Very good and very simple Jules ! I
1cm slices, 250 degrees for 20’ and the zucchini are staying juicy. I really like the idea of cooking for zucchini this way. It tasted a bit like a pizza ! Merci ?
You’re welcome Emilie!
And yes the flavours are really similar to pizza 🙂
I cannot believe how good this was. Made a half-batch just for myself, using home-grown zucchini. I will definitely make it again! And although I did plate it this time, it could also be eaten straight out the baking dish – bonus saving on washing up 😉
So glad you enjoyed Allison!
I’m making a Winter version with fennel and olives today.
Jx