I think I eat about 80% of all my zucchini and summer squash for the entire year in the summer months. There is something so appealing and addicting about vegetables in the summer. In particular, zucchini and summer squash. I usually sautée it until al dente or roast it in the oven. But for this recipe, I was reminded of a trip to Egypt many years ago where I ate the best zucchini gratin of my life. I know! Egypt! Who would have thought? I decided I needed to make an incredible zucchini & summer squash gratin to see if I could measure up to the Egyptian version.
COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE: A GREAT WAY TO SUPPORT LOCAL FARMERS
But before I get into that, I would like to welcome you to my Community Supported Agriculture Series. I bought a summer farm share at Clark Farm in Carlisle, MA. This is very exciting. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is all about supporting local farms by buying a share of their harvest before the growing season and receiving farm fresh produce every week for a certain period of time.
I thought it would be fun to post new recipes each week where I use my fresh, organic farm veggies in recipes that you can make too! I know there are a lot of people out there who do CSA in the summer. So this is for all of you!
The featured CSA ingredients for this recipe are Clark Farm organic zucchini, summer squash, garlic scapes, sage and thyme. I absolutely love farm fresh vegetables and greens in the summer and Clark Farm has not disappointed. We've had weeks of outstanding zucchini and summer squash and I am loving every minute of it!
Zucchini & Squash Rule in the Summer!
This incredible zucchini & summer squash gratin is soooo good and extremely easy to make. It's a great option for an elevated side dish that can be served with pretty much any protein. All you have to do is prep a few ingredients, layer the zucchini and squash in a baking dish and sprinkle in your garlic scapes, herbs and cheese.
If you have the time, make a stop at your local farm for the freshest, most amazing zucchini and summer squash. And if you can, joining a local CSA program will not only bring fresh greens and veggies into your life, it will bring you so much joy!
The fresh herb garden at Clark Farm in Carlisle is a special treat. You can take what you need and I've been loving the fresh mint for my tea as well as the sage and thyme. These two herbs complement the amazing zucchini and summer squash very well. Nothing says it's summer like fresh squash!
If you're looking for more CSA Recipes, you can check out the whole CSA Series Here.
Remember: take care of yourself and your loved ones. Cook amazing food and share your life and your smiles around the kitchen table. You can follow along with my instructional video and I'll be with you every step of the way!
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Incredible Zucchini & Summer Squash Gratin
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- plus 30 minutes while squash drains:
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 portions 1x
Description
Heavenly side dish with my CSA zucchini and herbs topped with smoked gouda and gruyere. An easy gourmet treat!
Ingredients
- 1 large zucchini
- 1 large summer squash
- 1 tablespoon garlic scapes, finely diced (or 1 large clove of regular garlic)
- 1 cup shredded smoked gouda cheese
- 2 cups shredded gruyere cheese
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage (4 large leaves)
- ½ teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Olive oil as needed
- Parmesan shaker cheese (optional topping)
Instructions
- Plan your time: your oven will need to get preheated to 400 degrees. A good time to do this is near the end of the zucchini and squash water draining process.
- Cut the tops and bottoms off the zucchini and summer squash. Cut them both into about ½” rounds. Make sure to keep the cut uniform so the squash cooks evenly. Put all the zucchini and squash rounds in a colander with a bowl underneath. Add the salt to the squash and give it a good toss around. The salt will draw the water out of the squash which we need to do before cooking it. Set it aside for 30 minutes.
- Finely dice your garlic scapes. If you don’t have garlic scapes, just use regular garlic.
- Stack your sage leaves, roll them, then slice and finely dice. Set aside.
- Pull the leaves from the stems of your thyme. Even though the leaves are pretty small, we’re still going to dice it down further. Add to the diced sage.
- Shred both cheeses and put them in a bowl. Toss around so the cheeses are combined. If you want to use more cheese – go for it!
- After the zucchini and summer squash have sat out for 30 minutes, give the colander a shake and discard the water in the bowl below the colander. Put the zucchini and squash on a paper towel lined sheet pan and blot the top with paper towel.
- ASSEMBLE THE GRATIN: Drizzle a little olive oil and brush it around the baking dish (maybe 1 teaspoon). I used an 8x11 baking dish. Put down one layer of the zucchini and summer squash, sprinkle some of the diced garlic scapes, some fresh sage and thyme, and half the cheese. Put the rest of the zucchini and summer squash on top of the cheese, the rest of the garlic scapes, another pinch of sage and thyme (reserving one last pinch for the top layer), a small drizzle of olive oil (1 teaspoon approx.), the rest of the cheese, then the last pinch of the sage and thyme. Last step: pour the heavy cream over the top of the baking dish. Wrap your dish in foil, then bake in your pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes covered. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes uncovered. (NOTE: my oven runs hot and yours may take a little more or less time to cook.)
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately. Remember – cheese starts to harden a little over time so serving as soon as possible is the best scenario. You can put out shaker cheese as an optional topping if you’d like.
Notes
- The way smoked gouda is sold you may need to buy a block of cheese that’s a little too big. I had some left over and used it for other things. I mean, it’s cheese – you’ll find a use for it.
- The heavy cream: I think this recipe could hold a little more heavy cream, but I held back on that. I used ¼ cup, but I think you could use ½ cup and be fine.
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