Zucchini Rice Gratin courtesy of Smitten Kitchen

I really wanted to make the zucchini rice gratin that was recently on Smitten Kitchen. I had both tomatoes & zucchini that needed to be used, and everything about the dish sounded delicious. The only problem being that Tim hates tomatoes...and zucchini. Kind of crucial to the recipe.

Luckily I am fortunate to have a boyfriend who, despite hating quite a few of my favorite ingredients, is willing to try any dish that I make (knowing of course that a bowl of Ramen is waiting on the sidelines if it's disgusting). I was starving when I started making dinner & didn't really want to wait around to roast the veggies in the oven, so I actually just pan-fried the zucchini & onions, then threw in the tomato near the end. I also mixed together all the ingredients instead of putting the rice on the bottom, & I'm really glad I went that route. Oh & (almost done with my modifications, promise) I put 2x the number of eggs in so it was kind of a mix between the gratin & a frittata.

Verdict? "I can't believe I'm actually eating tomatoes. It's good!"

And I couldn't stop eating it. In fact, I really kind of still want to eat it.


Zucchini Rice Gratin
originally from Gourmet March 2008, via Epicurious

1/2 cup long-grain brown rice
2 medium zucchini, sliced thinly
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
1/4 cup shredded Manchego

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Cook rice according to package instructions.

While rice cooks, heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, saute zucchini for about 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add onions & garlic, saute for another 2 or 3 minutes, then turn heat down to medium & add tomatoes, cooking just until tomatoes are heated through.

Pour zucchini-tomato mixture into a medium casserole dish, along with the cooked rice, eggs, 1 Tbsp oil, 1/2 of the cheese, salt & pepper. Mix well & sprinkle remaining cheese over the top. Place on middle rack in the oven & bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.

I will definitely make this again. It was really easy with my slight modifications, & it was more than delicious. This time I used a few less veggies than I typically would in order to disguise the tomato & zucchini flavor with cheese and eggs. We had some Manchego cheese which I think added a great flavor to the dish, but of course you could substitute with all Parmesan.

Apologies for the horrible pictures...we devoured most of it before I even thought of taking out the camera, & then I didn't want to plate more in case my camera wasn't going to work.

Make this immediately! And eat it often. :)