Crusty Parmesan-Herbed Zucchini

 

We're meat-eaters. Heathen meat-eaters. 

But sometimes it's just cheaper to have a meal without meat. 

If you dress up your veggies, and serve them up like these Crusty Parmesan-Herbed Zucchini, you won't miss the meat. I promise. Plus, your wallet will equally be as happy as your bellies. 

On The Next Food Network Star right now on the Food Network, there's a blogger Nikki who has a really neat POV. She talked about serving the veggies as the star of your dish, and serving your meat "on the side." I love it. She's not preaching to eliminate the meat from our plates, but suggesting to switch things around a bit, serving/size-wise. 

I've tried to incorporate this concept into our dishes this past month... Ryan caught on pretty fast. But after a while, he's come around (mostly because of the financial aspect of eating less meat and having a majority of our plates covered with veggies and fruits). It's been kind of fun to play around with veggies, and serve them in new and interesting ways. 

This dish came pretty naturally. I love using Parmesan and herbs to salt and season meat - why not use it on our veggies? The zucchini was soft and juicy, and the layers of beautiful herbs and salty Parmesan were a perfect compliment. 

I think the only thing I'd change would be to serve these with some homemade marinara sauce for dunking or dipping. 

~blondie

Roasted Parmesan-Herb Zucchini

ingredients:

4 fresh medium zucchini, sliced longways

2/3 C Parmesan cheese, grated

2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary and thyme, minced (use about 1/2 t of each if using dried)

sprinkle of garlic powder

EVOO

salt and pepper to taste

method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or you could grill this right up outside!)

2. Coat the zucchini slices front and back with a bit of EVOO. 

3. Place zucchini on a cookie sheet - inside of the zucchini facing up. Sprinkle with garlic powder to your liking, then sprinkle with parmesan and herbs.

4. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes, switch oven to broil, and broil until tops of zucchini are golden, about 5 minutes. 

BwB original