Zucchini-Kartoffel-Parmigiana (zucchini and potato parmigiana)
Zucchini and potato slices fried until browned before layering with tomato sauce and cheese, the classic parmigiana technique applied to two vegetables instead of the traditional aubergine alone. Frying the slices first, rather than layering them raw, is what keeps the finished bake from turning watery, since both vegetables release a good amount of liquid if baked without pre-cooking.
Prep35 min
Cook50 min
Rest15 min
Oven190°C
Servings6
Christoph's zucchini and potato parmigiana, both vegetables fried first rather than layered raw so the finished bake doesn't turn watery.
Ingredients
Written for a 30 × 20 cm dish
Units
Temperature
Servings
Fried vegetables
- 500 g zucchini, sliced 5 mm thick lengthwise rounded
- 500 g waxy potatoes, sliced 5 mm thick rounded
- 80 ml olive oil, for frying rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
Tomato sauce
- 150 g onion, finely chopped rounded
- 2 garlic cloves rounded
- 20 ml olive oil rounded
- 700 g chopped tomatoes rounded
- 5 g dried oregano rounded
- 15 g fresh basil (optional) rounded
To assemble
- 250 g mozzarella, sliced rounded
- 60 g grated hard cheese rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Heat a little of the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Fry the zucchini slices in batches, about 2 minutes per side, until lightly browned. Season with salt as they come out. Repeat with the potato slices, adding more oil as needed, frying about 3 minutes per side until browned and nearly tender.
- For the sauce, heat the olive oil and sweat the onion and garlic for 4 minutes, until softened. Add the chopped tomatoes and oregano, simmer 15 minutes, and tear in the basil at the end.
- Heat the oven to 190°C. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in the base of a baking dish. Layer the fried potato, then some sauce, then mozzarella, then the fried zucchini, more sauce, and more mozzarella. Repeat, finishing with a layer of sauce and the grated hard cheese on top.
- Bake 30 minutes, until deeply golden and bubbling. Rest 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- Fry both vegetables before layering them, do not skip this step. Raw zucchini and potato release a great deal of water as they bake, which waterlogs the dish; frying first drives off much of that moisture and builds flavour through browning.
- Season the vegetables lightly as they come out of the pan, not just in the sauce, so every layer carries some seasoning rather than relying on the sauce alone.
- Let the dish rest before cutting, as with any layered bake; it holds together far better once slightly set.
- It keeps for 4 days in the fridge and reheats well, covered, in a moderate oven.
Ingredient substitutions
- Waxy potatoes hold their shape better through frying and baking than floury ones.
- Mozzarella can be any good melting cheese.
- A thin layer of aubergine, fried the same way, is a good addition if you want to combine this with the traditional parmigiana.
From Christoph Mayer