I first ate this dish, cooked in this way, on a campsite in Puglia. The cook was the Scottish husband of a Sicilian surgeon, while the frying pan, having lost its plastic handle on a previous holiday, was moved on and off the small Primus stove with surgical forceps. Necessity drove the cooking and the parmigiana di zucchine was made in one pan over a low flame.
As with aubergine parmigiana, a common way to prepare courgette for parmigiana di zucchine is to dredge the courgette slices in flour, then to deep-fry them. Alternatively, brush the slices with oil and griddle or bake. Wonderful ways both, but neither ideal for camping. Some recipes suggest raw courgette as a solution, but the problem with that is that, regardless of how thinly it is cut, the courgette always remains slightly raw and green tasting. The answer to all the above, and one suggested by the surgeon, is to fry the potato-peeler strips of courgette in a small amount of olive oil before layering – not to cook or brown them, but simply to fry off the rawness so they turn floppy and opaque, also tangled, like unravelled ribbons, but easily untangled.
Back to the campsite: once the pan was free of courgettes, and as the sun set and the mosquitoes and fireflies danced, the tomato sauce was made in the same frying pan. That, too, was then set aside (in an ice-cream tub) and the courgettes returned to the pan in layers with the sauce, mozzarella and parmesan. This is back-and-forth cooking. Another important step in this – and in any parmigiana – is to drain the mozzarella for a few hours before using it, so some of the milky liquid is lost before you rip the cheese into smaller pieces.
Like its aubergine cousin, and whether you are on a campsite or in a kitchen on a hot day, courgette parmigiana needs to rest for anything from 20 minutes to a few hours before serving. Not only does this allow the flavours to settle, but it means the juices have time to absorb back into the bake and the cheese to firm up, making it easier to cut the parmigiana into triangles or squares. Serve this practical recipe with a green salad and bread rolls, which can be torn open by those who want to stuff a slice of parmigiana inside.
Courgette parmigiana in a frying pan
Prep 15 min
Cook 45 min
Serves 4
4 courgettes
5 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing
1 small onion, peeled and very finely diced
400g crushed peeled tomatoes, (either a tin with its juice, or fresh, peeled and crushed)
Salt
A couple of sprigs fresh basil
A pinch of red chilli flakes (optional)
300g mozzarella, drained for a few hours and ripped into pieces
50g parmesan (or grana padano/pecorino), grated
Using a mandoline or potato peeler, shave the courgettes lengthways into strips. In a heavy-based frying pan, warm two tablespoons of olive oil, fry the slices of courgette, in batches, for 30 seconds on each side to start the cooking – they will tangle up, but don’t worry. Once done, transferto a plate and sprinkle with salt.
Back in the pan, warm three more tablespoons of olive oil, then fry the diced onion until soft. Add the tomatoes, a pinch of salt, a sprig of basil and a few red chilli flakes, if you like, then leave to simmer for about 15 minutes, mashing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon to help break them up, until the sauce is thick and rich. Pull the pan off the heat and tip the sauce into a bowl.
Rub the pan with a little more olive oil and use a third of the courgettes to make a base layer. Cover that with a third each of the sauce, mozzarella and parmesan, then make another layer of courgettes. Top that with another third of the sauce, mozzarella, parmesan and a few basil leaves. To finish, make a final layer of courgettes, then top with the remaining sauce, mozzarella and parmesan.
Put the pan back on a medium flame for two minutes and listen: once you can hear the base courgettes sizzle, reduce the flame to low, cover the pan and leave to cook for 20 minutes. Uncover and raise the flame again for a few minutes to evaporate any excess juices, then leave to sit for 30 minutes (and up to a few hours) before serving.
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