Zucchini Gratin/Bake

Oops I forgot to take a photo before we scoffed the lot but it was so much better than the title suggests. Imagine if you will, my Pyrex pie plate(10inches diam), lightly buttered and then layered with thin slices of zucchini, red onion coated in sour cream and topped with good cheddar cheese. Got it?

This makes 3-4 side servings

1 medium-large zucchini, thinly sliced
half a red onion, thinly sliced
1T butter(not margarine please)
1/2 cup sour cream or cream
1 cup grated cheese...make it a good, tasty cheese as this is the main flavour
1/2t chopped garlic

Start by layering about half of the zucchini and onion then sprinkle with a little grated cheese
Finish with the rest of the vegs(not the garlic)
Warm up the butter, garlic and sour cream in the microwave....it may not look like enough but pour it over the dish and use your spatula to get every last morsel out
Gently shake the dish to distribute the cream
Top with plenty of grated cheese, bake for about 35-40 mins at 180C and enjoy.
We had some lamb chops and sweet potato with ours and it was lovely.

In Arles we had ratatouille twice in restaurants and I noted that they cook it for much longer than I do at home. So I tried cooking it while we were still there and once it was very tender(2hrs) I fried off some (300-400gms)beef mince and added that leaving it all to cook for at least another 30 minutes....so good with pasta or mashed potatoes. I am cooking it again here today using

1 large, finely chopped eggplant
1 red capsicum, finely chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
half a teaspoon of garlic
3 large tomatoes, chopped
3T tomato paste and around a cup of water
2t mixed herbs
salt, pepper and 1t of sugar

and you can add sliced mushrooms, olives, chopped greens to suit what you have on hand. Zucchini is generally added too but I used mine in the gratin.

Saute the onion and capsicum then the tomato paste and add everything else.
Simmer for as long as you can, checking the water and stirring from time to time.

And because I didn't take a pic of the Zucchini Gratin last night here is my duck in peppercorn sauce served with chips and salad at a restaurant in Nice...and no I didn't eat all the chips!! Want to see what Joe had?

Joe had these huge prawns they call 'gambas' served with a stuffed tomato and salad...

Now I'm really hungry...hope I've whet your appetite too and that you will try the zucchini recipe
xxx