We're really lucky to have zucchini in the winter season here in Southern California through our CSA. Even though it's February, we're receiving loads of zucchini which has made for delicious weeknight dinners. This Zucchini Parmesan was the antidote to missing our regular Eggplant Parmesan, which we had over the summer using the eggplant from our small urban garden.

This dish does take some time so if you've got the time during the weeknight, you're in for a treat. Otherwise, save this for your Sunday Supper plans. It's a showstopper:

Prepping the Zucchini for Frying

Before we can fry up the zucchini, we need to draw out moisture. First, we'll salt the sliced zucchini and lay them on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Allow the zucchini slices to sit for 10 minutes to draw out that excess moisture.

Next, we'll prep our dredging stations as follows:

Station 1: Italian breadcrumbs
Station 2: Egg + egg whites
Station 3: All-purpose flour seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Having the dredging stations ready will make it easier to dip our zucchini slices in the order shown below prior to frying them up.

Next up: it's time to fry up our zucchini!

Preheat your frying oil in a large cast iron skillet. Once the oil is hot, dredge up your zucchini slices and fry them in batches as show below.

Assemble the Zucchini Parmesan

Once all of our zucchini slices are fried up, it's time to assemble our dish for baking. The recipe below has instructions for making a tomato sauce that is shown here, but you can definitely opt to use store bought marinara.

To assemble your zucchini parmesan:

Step 1: Ladle ¼ cup of tomato sauce/marinara on the bottom of your baking dish.
Step 2: Layer slices of fried zucchini on the bottom
Step 3: Top the zucchini layer with the shredded parmesan and mozzarella
Step 4: Top with another ¼ cup of tomato sauce/marinara

Repeat until all slices of fried zucchini are adorned with cheese and sauce.

Bake the Zucchini Parmesan

Finally, it's time to bake! Bake the zucchini parmesan for approximately 35 to 40 minutes or until it's golden brown and bubbling in its deliciousness.

Remove from the oven, garnish with chopped basil leaves. Cool it slightly for 5 to 10 minutes before feeding the crowd.

Zucchini Parmesan

Frances Kellar

This dish is a labor of love perfect for a Sunday Supper or Family Dinner idea. Though it takes some time, the effort is well worth it for this baked vegetarian dish that celebrates seasonal zucchini in all its glory.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 15

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings servings

Equipment

1 Rimmed baking sheet
1 cast iron skillet
1 9 x 13 baking dish

Ingredients

2 pounds zucchini ends trimmed and sliced lengthwise into ½ inch slices
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups shredded mozzarella
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan
1.5 cups seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
½ cup egg whites
1 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 10-ounce can diced tomatoes
½ yellow onion diced
2-4 cloves garlic chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Instructions

Prep Tomato Sauce

To make tomato sauce, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion. Cook, stirring often, until onion is tender an translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add garlic and stir to cook until fragrant, about a minute. Add tomato paste and stir until the garlic and onions are well coated in the paste. Add tomatoes, with their juices, along with the kosher salt, pepper, and basil sprigs. Increase heat to medium-high to bring sauce to a vigorous simmer. Stir and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until tomatoes have cooked down, about 15 to 25 minutes. Remove basil sprigs; taste and adjust seasoning.
Spoon sauce into blender and blend on medium low speed until smooth. If desired, you can pulse sauce to leave as chunky a texture as desired.

Prep Zucchini for Frying

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment and paper towels. Trim ends off zucchini and cut in half crosswise, then into lengthwise slices, about ¼ to ⅓ inch thick. Season both sides with kosher salt. Cover with another layer of paper towels and allow to sit about 10 minutes to draw out any moisture from the zucchini. The paper towels will help to drain any excess moisture to ensure a crispy fried zucchini for the baked dish. Preheat a large cast iron skillet with about an inch of frying oil.
Prepare your dredging station using three shallow bowls or plates. Bowl/plate 1: Mix together 1 cup all-purpose flour with ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes. Bowl/plate 2: Whisk together eggs and egg whites until well combined. Bowl/plate 3: measure out 1.5 cups of Italian seasoned bread crumbs. Line up the bowls in that order so that you have the flour station first, egg station second, and bread crumbs third.
To fry the zucchini: take a slice of the zucchini and coat in the flour mixture. Next, dunk the flour coated zucchini in the egg mixture. Finally, coat the zucchini in the bread crumbs. Fry zucchini, 3 or 4 slices at a time, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side—or until each side is golden brown and crispy. Remove fried zucchini slices and place them on a baking sheet lined with fresh paper towels to drain excess oil. Repeat until all slices are fried.

Assemble Zucchini Parmesan for Baking

To assemble the dish, oil a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with olive oil. Spread ¼ cup tomato sauce over bottom of dish. Arrange 3 to 4 zucchini slices in an even layer over the tomato sauce. Spoon a third of remaining sauce over zucchini and sprinkle with ¼ cup parmesan and Mozzarella. Repeat with 2 more layers, ending with the remaining parmesan and mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil to help with browning while baking. Bake for approximately 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly around the edges. Remove from heat, garnish with chopped fresh basil leaves. Cool slightly for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.