Zucchine e patate al forno (Oven Roasted Zucchini and Potatoes)

If anyone tries to tell you that zucchini aka courgettes are a bland vegetable, serve them this dish, zucchine e patate al forno or Oven Roasted Zucchini and Potatoes. You’ll change their mind at their first bite.

The recipe is straightforward. Just lay out alternating layers of pre-seasoned sliced zucchini and potatoes in a baking dish, top them with seasoned breadcrumbs and a good drizzle of olive oil. Then it’s into the oven for about 45 minutes until the veg are cooked through and the topping has turned a beautiful golden brown.

The recipe is also versatile. You can switch things up by varying the seasonings to your liking. Add cheese or ham, or both, for a more substantial dish fit for an antipasto or main course.

You can scarcely get any simpler than this, folks. But the result is incredibly tasty. The zucchini infuse the potatoes with their lovely mild, sweet flavor, enhanced by the fruity olive oil and just the slightest hint of garlic. And the breadcrumb topping adds more savor and an almost addictive crunch to the melt in your mouth creaminess of the vegetables.

Now I realize this sounds like an over the top description for what is, at the end of the day, just a simple vegetable gratin. But, trust me, just give zucchine e patate al forno a try. You can thank me for it later…

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

• 2-3 largish sized zucchini, about 250g (1/2 lb), thinly sliced
• 3-4 smallish new potatoes, about 300g (10-1/2 oz), peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, split in half
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the topping:

• 2 heaping Tbs breadcrumbs
• A spring or two of fresh parsley, marjoram or oregano, minced
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced (optional)
• grated parmigiano-reggiano or pecorino romano, to taste (optional)

Directions

Prep the ingredients

Place the zucchini slices in a mixing bowl and toss with a drizzle of olive and season generously with salt and pepper.

Do the same with the potato slices, in a separate bowl

In a third bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with the minced herb, salt, pepper and, if using the minced garlic and/or a spoonful or two of grated cheese. Drizzle with enough olive oil to moisten the mixture and mix again.

Assemble the dish

Rub the bottom of a large baking dish with a clove of garlic and discard. Then brush on a little olive oil to cover the entire bottom of the dish.

Lay down alternating, overlapping slices of zucchini and potato in a snug single layer.

Sprinkle the seasoned breadcrumbs over the zucchini and potato slices. Drizzle everything with more olive oil.

Bake and serve

Bake in a moderate (190C/375F) oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the potato is cooked through. The topping should be golden brown. If it isn’t, run under a moderate broiler for a few minutes more.

Let rest for a few minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes on zucchine e patate al forno

Try to find zucchini and potatoes that are about the same size around. That means zucchini that are bit bigger than average, as well as smallish (but not baby) sized potatoes. Then slice them both equally thin. You should wind up with the same number of slices of each vegetable of roughly the same width and thickness.

Any kind of potato will work in a pinch, but I much prefer to use yellow-fleshed new potatoes for this dish for their creamy texture and rich flavor. New potatoes with their thin skins can be peeled or not, as you prefer. I generally prefer to peel mine. No need to throw the peels out, by the way. Deep fried and lightly salted, they’re absolutely addictive.

The baking dish can be any shape or material, though I particularly like a large round ceramic baking dish as pictured here. That allows you to arrange your slices in lovely concentric circles. A dish about 30cm (≈12in) in diameter works well with this amount of vegetable. It’s best to use a dish with low sides to allow the hot air to circulate for faster, more even cooking and better browning.

Cooking tips and time savers

To ensure the zucchini and potatoes cook evenly, do try to limit yourself to a single albeit overlapping layer of ingredients. I like to lay out my slices so they overlap about halfway, but you can overlap them more or less so all your ingredients fit in the baking dish. Bear in mind that the vegetables will shink as they bake, so make sure the circles are packed together quite snuggly. If you really want or need multiple layers of ingredients, then I’d parboil the potatoes before baking (see below) and you’ll probably need more like 60 minutes baking.

If you want to save some time, you can skip the initial seasoning of the zucchini and potatoes and just lay the raw slices into your baking dish. Then be extra generous seasoning your breadcrumbs and finally, drizzle everything with a good glug of olive oil before placing the dish in the oven. It’ll be perfectly fine, though I think the tiny bit of extra time and effort it take to preseason the veg does pay off. It’s paying attention to little details like this that turns a good cooking into a really great cook.

And if you’re really pressed for time and don’t need or want to impress anyone, you can just mix and season the zucchini and potato slices together and pour them willy-nilly in the baking dish. Just make sure that they’re spread out thinly so they cook evenly. The dish won’t be very pretty, of course, but it’ll still be delicious.

Variations

As mentioned at the top, if you want to turn zucchine e patate al forno into a more substantial dish, fit for antipasto or even a main course, you can alternate the zucchini and potato with slices of mozzarella or scamorza, or slices of cooked ham. Or both if you really want to go to town.

You can also skip the breadcrumbs if you like or top with grated cheese only.

There are recipes for zucchine e patate al forno where you precook the potatoes and/or the zucchini before they are baked together into the oven. The potato slices are parboiled, while the zucchini is lightly sautéed. Sounds like too much trouble, if you ask me, especialy for the zucchini.

Parboiling the potatoes does make some sense, since the naturally take longer to cook than the zucchini. But if your slices are thin enough and your ingredients are well spread out, this shouldn’t be a problem. That said, if you want to “deep dish” version of this dish, do parboil the potatoes at least.

Making zucchine e patate al forno ahead

The dish is at its best, in my opinion, slightly warm but it’s also actually quite nice at room temp. I wouldn’t make it too far ahead, however. A hour or two is fine.

Otherwise, you could also assemble the dish some time ahead, then bake and serve it when you’re ready to eat. You can also reheat it, but honestly, while it’s perfect edible, the reheated dish loses much of its charm.

If you find you have a few stray leftover raw potato or zucchini slices, they’re perfectly delicious in padella, sautéed in garlic and olive oil. If you have both, sauté the potatoes first, until they are almost tender, then add the zucchini.

Print Recipe

Zucchine e patate al forno (Oven Roasted Zucchini and Potatoes)

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: baked, vegetarian

Ingredients

• 2-3 largish sized zucchini about 250g (1/2 lb), thinly sliced
• 3-4 smallish new potatoes about 300g (10-1/2 oz), peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic split in half
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the topping:

• 2 heaping Tbs breadcrumbs
• A spring or two of fresh parsley marjoram or oregano, minced
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 clove garlic finely minced (optional)
• grated parmigiano-reggiano or pecorino romano to taste (optional)

Instructions

Prep the ingredients

• Place the zucchini slices in a mixing bowl and toss with a drizzle of olive and season generously with salt and pepper.
• Do the same with the potato slices, in a separate bowl
• In a third bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with the minced herb, salt, pepper and, if using the minced garlic and/or a spoonful or two of grated cheese. Drizzle with enough olive oil to moisten the mixture and mix again.

Assemble the dish

• Rub the bottom of a large baking dish with a clove of garlic and discard. Then brush on a little olive oil to cover the entire bottom of the dish.
• Lay down alternating, overlapping slices of zucchini and potato in a snug single layer.
• Sprinkle the seasoned breadcrumbs over the zucchini and potato slices. Drizzle everything with more olive oil.

Bake and serve

• Bake in a moderate (190C/375F) oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the potato is cooked through. The topping should be golden brown. If it isn’t, run under a moderate broiler for a few minutes more.
• Let rest for a few minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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