ZUCCHINI CHEESE BAKE

Zucchini (aka courgette) can be used in a variety of dishes and makes a great low carbohydrate, low sugar meal anytime of the day. 

The dark green summer squash is very low calorie, high in potassium, which is a heart friendly electrolyte, so is fantastic for any athlete. Rich in dietary fiber, vitamin A and vitamin B-6, and contains moderate amounts of 

I follow Anna Vocino and this was inspired from her yummy recipe

This cheesy bake was used with full fat soft cheese instead of ricotta, as the one time I needed it for a recipe my store had sold out! So I would imagine ricotta would spread more evenly as the consistency is light and fluffy.

Thinly sliced

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 shallots chopped
1 red pepper chopped
pinch garlic salt
pinch dried oregano

3-4 zucchinis/corgettes, thinly sliced
125g (1/3 cup) full fat ricotta
300g/8 oz (2 cups) grated colby jack cheese

or mixture of mild cheddar/swiss will do
100ml (1/4 cup) whipping cream
butter to grease the baking dish
Salt & Pepper

Grated cheese (I used half colby half red leciester)

Chopped pepper

Preheat oven to 200c/350f

Heat up the olive oil and butter in a non-stick fry pan on medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook 3-5 minutes until they start to caramelize and sweat. Add in the chopped red pepper, pinch of garlic salt and oregano. 

Cook a few more minutes until the red peppers are soft. Remove from heat and set aside.

Sweat the shallots and pepper

Grease a 9 x 12 baking dish with butter. Place sliced zucchini, one layer at a time, spreading them apart fairly evenly. Salt and Pepper each new layer of zucchini. On the first layer of zucchini, spread out the ricotta cheese. On the second layer, sprinkle a handful of the grated cheese. On the third layer, evenly pour the whipping cream, and on the fourth layer spread out the shallot and pepper mixture. Top with remainder of grated cheese.

Cover with baking foil and bake for 15 minutes then remove the foil and bake for a further 15-20 minutes, or until the top is slight browned and bubbly.

season each layer of zucchini

Start to layer

Extra thick cream but should be whipping cream

Difficulty spreading the extra thick cream

I forgot to smooth on the cream before the peppers, so wetting a spoon between spreading really helped create a smooth topping. 

Use whipping cream, it is easier as you can pour over like the original recipe.

Final layer of remaining cheese

Serving the zucchini bake hot with salad or even served cold makes a very tasty dish anytime of the day!

Tasty left overs served cold with salad

Enjoy!