Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Quick and Easy Roasted Zucchini


The Diva's taking the easy way out today. So easy, in fact, that this isn't even my recipe! (Though, naturally, I've changed it up some.) I popped into a favorite farm stand this weekend and along with the bounty of fresh veggies, the stand had little Xerox copies of family recipes to go with. Sweet!

No doubt zucchini and tomatoes are in abundance right now, so its likely that you'll already have these ingredients on hand. This is a simple summer side dish, and the possibilities for variation are limited only by your imagination. Got some yellow squash? Throw it into the mix. Not a fan of grape tomatoes? Use cherries instead or leave them out and add some onion. Feel free to vary the seasonings as well, according to your taste. Its all good and all healthy too!

Roasted zucchini has a wonderful, caramelized flavor and the grape tomatoes are greatly improved by some time in the oven. Their flavor intensifies, adding a welcome piquancy to the dish. Its as delicious as is it easy!

Roasted Zucchini and Tomatoes:
  • 2 large zucchini, cut into 1 inch chunks
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, washed and left whole
  • extra-virgin olive oil
  • salt-free seasoning, such as Mrs. Dash
  • Herbes de Provence
  • Kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Lightly brush the bottom of 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish with olive oil. Place the chopped zucchini and grape tomatoes into the prepared dish and drizzle with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil. Toss to coat. Sprinkle the veggies with some salt-free seasoning, such as Mrs. Dash (any flavor you like), add a pinch of herbes de Provence, a small pinch of Kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper to taste. Toss again to coat.

3. Bake in the middle of a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 45 minutes, stirring once about half-way through. Remove from oven and sprinkle dish with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serve. Or, alternately, you may run the dish under the broiler for a moment or two to melt and brown the cheese before serving.

As written, this recipe will serve 6.

So what's your favorite way to serve zucchini? Hungry Diva wants to know!

Enjoy!

14 comments:

stephchows said...

perfect! i just got a huge zucchini from a coworkers garden yesterday :)

Molly said...

yum. I would eat all six servings by myself!

Mo Diva said...

sO SIMPLE. i love it!

i actually love grilled my zukes but i havent tried roasting them.

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

I like the Herbs de Provence...very nice touch! Bet the flavors really popped!

pixelgal said...

Those of us living in the burbs could use the grill as an oven and try this in a pan on top. Always looking for a zuke recipe as you know. The challenge this year is to pick them before they get to be something the Yankees could use for A-Rod's 600th run!

Lentil Breakdown said...

You can't go wrong with roasted veggies, but where's the garlic? ; )

The Diva on a Diet said...

Steph - Score! My zucch was garden fresh too ... so much yummier!

Molly - LOL, I could probably do the same!

Mo - even though the kitchen gets hot with the oven on, I prefer the roasted to grilled. Plus, its easy.

Katherine - they did, especially the grape tomatoes!

pixelgal - the way things are going for A-Rod, seems like he might want to try a zucchini for a bat! LOL

Lentil Breakdown - you have no idea how funny that question is ... I've got about a million heads of gorgeous garlic on my counter, courtesy of my bro. Stay tuned, the blog's going to be knee deep in garlic ... soon! ;)

Delicious Dishings said...

I usually just toss zucchini with garlic and tomatoes and put it over pasta, but I am dying to try making zucchini fritters. This roasted dish looks really tasty too!

pixelgal said...

Zucchini fritters can also be layered with sauce and parmesan cheese like eggplant. The taste is really good and it's sweeter than eggplant. Also a good solution for the bat-sized zukes.
FYI

Lisa said...

Hey Diva..I just popped in in time for the haul of zucchini I'll be getting soon from friend's gardens lol This dish looks to be a perfect and delicious way to use some of it. So colorful and lovely..plus..I never really use my Herbs de provense for some reason. This is the time to do so!

Charmian @Christie's Corner said...

While I adore roasted vegetables, I think zuchhini soup is my favourite. Or if I'm lazy, just plain grilled zucchini.

Okay, I'm lazy. Grilled it is.

The Diva on a Diet said...

Megan - I should probably make some fritters too. I've always wanted to ... good idea!

pixelgal - I did the zucchini parm with bro's zucc last summer and it was fantastic. Another good idea!

Lisa - how funny about the herbes de Provence! I tend to throw them into a lot of stuff, particularly chicken dishes. I really like the flavor.

Charmian - I remember your zucchini soup ... it looked amazing! Thanks for the reminder that I need to try it!

Sook said...

This would make a perfect side dish for me. I love zucchini.

Carla and Michael said...

I love roasting most any veggies. I too need to find more uses for my Herbs de Provence. Favorite zucchini dish? All of them! Roasted, grilled, fried, soups, casseroles...