A Twist on a Classic
The Linked Fit kitchen is a big fan of Zucchini!
It's probably prepped and cooked at least twice a week. Zucchini is an instant go-to veggie, and makes for great side dishes or the star of any plate! Zucchini can easily be manipulated to serve as a lower-calorie substitute for many dishes. It's also packed with an abundance of nutrients and is found year-round in the grocery stores.
Looking to make zucchini noodles? Check out our recipe and article all about the zucchini noodle.
Since zucchini is so versatile, we decided to take another classic dish, scalloped potatoes, and substitute the potatoes with zucchini! It turned out to be a deliciously lite and fresh side dish to be served alongside any protein!
This recipe is incredibly simple and easy, plus, the sauce made in this recipe can be used for a number of different dishes requiring a white sauce!
Let's break it down!
Let's go over the basics of making a classic white sauce. First, start off with good melting cheese. For this recipe, we used both parmesan and gruyere cheese. Gruyere cheese is a perfect melting cheese and pairs well with parmesan. Freshly grated cheeses tend to work better too. To begin, melt butter in a pan or skillet and sauté minced garlic over medium heat. Next, and in equal parts of flour to the butter. For this recipe, we used gluten free all purpose flour. The butter and flour create a mixture called a roux, this is what helps to thicken sauces. Once the roux is formed, slowly start to add milk or cream. This helps to make sure no clumps develop. Bring the sauce to a simmer for just a minute or two to help thicken and then turn the heat off. Lastly, add the cheese and any additional seasonings. The residual heat of the pan will help to melt the cheese. Stir the cheese into the sauce until it's smooth and creamy. It's as simple as that! Check out the recipe below to get the measurements.
Now that we've developed the perfect white sauce let's revisit the zucchini in this recipe. 2-3 medium zucchinis should do the trick. Make sure to cut them in about 1/4" coins, no more than 1/2". Want to avoid the zucchini being too thin where they just fall apart, and not too big where you bite into a chunk of zucchini. Once cut start the layering process of both zucchini and the cream sauce.
To finish this recipe off, sprinkle the top with more cheese, seasonings, and bread crumbs. The bread crumbs give the dish a nice crunch. Another great recommendation is to stick the dish under the broiler for the last few minutes to give even more texture and crunch!
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