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Cooking adventures in a small, closet sized, kitchen. - I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.

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Zucchini and Farro Gratin

[heart_this] · Jul 30, 2009 · 28 Comments

Zucchini and Farro Gratin

One of my favorite summer vegetables is the zucchini also known as courgettes or summer squash. They are one of my favorites both because I like them and because they are always nice and cheap while in season. This weekend I finally noticed the locally grown zucchini at the farmers market and I picked up a bunch of them already knowing what I wanted to make first. I had come across a recipe for a summer squash and farro gratin on Cooking with Michelle that combined the zucchini with a whole grain. I have really been enjoying whole grains lately and I liked the sound of combining the zucchini with the farro, and the melted cheesy goodness was just the icing on the cake.
Sometimes I find myself worrying about the size of ingredients and this time I was thinking that it would be nice if the zucchini was cut to a size that was similar to that of the farro. Since farro is pretty small I decided to just grate the zucchini which also ended up being a lot easier than dicing it. Since the zucchini was grated into such small pieces I figured that I could just add it to the gratin without sauteing it first. I went with equal parts green and yellow courgettes to add some extra colour in the dish. Having to cook the farro, make the bechamel sauce , saute the onions and finally bake the gratin took a bit of time but it was pretty easy and the results were well worth the effort. The zucchini and farro gratin turned out really well! It was nice and creamy and ooey gooey and cheesy and good. The grated zucchini worked really well in the gratin and the farro added nice chewiness while the panko topping brought a nice crunch to finish it off. Despite the fact that is served this as a side dish I went back for seconds! I had a jar of salsa that needed finishing and I tried serving it on the leftover zucchini and farro gratin and it worked surprisingly well adding a nice touch of heat. What a great start to zucchini season!

Zucchini and Farro Gratin

Zucchini and Farro Gratin

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Servings: 6
ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 onion (chopped)
  • 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups zucchini (grated)
  • 2 cups cooked farro (or brown rice or other whole grain)
  • 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated)
  • 3/4 cup gruyere (grated)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup bread crumbs (I used panko)
  • 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated)
directions
  1. Heat the oil in a pan.
  2. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute and set aside.
  4. Melt the butter in a sauce pan.
  5. Whisk in the flour and continue whisking until if turns a light golden brown.
  6. Whisk in the milk simmer until it thickens.
  7. Mix the onions, white sauce, zucchini, farro, parmigiano reggiano and gruyere and season with salt and pepper.
  8. Pour the mixture into an 8 inch square baking pan and top with a mixture of bread crumbs and parmigiano reggiano.
  9. Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until golden brown and bubbling, about 30 minutes.
Similar Recipes:
Asparagus and Zucchini Farro Salad
Roasted Brussels Sprouts Gratin
Cheesy Broccoli Rice
Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin

Food, Main Course, Recipe, Vegetable, Vegetarian, Whole Grains

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ginny says

    July 30, 2009 at 11:57 pm

    I love it, Kevin! Zucchini like this would be great!

    Reply
  2. Miakoda says

    July 31, 2009 at 2:30 am

    Looks hearty, healthy and delicious! I love the combination 🙂

    Reply
  3. Erin says

    July 31, 2009 at 2:55 am

    I keep seeing recipes for farro, and have yet to try it. I'm sure I would love it, so I'm not sure what's holding me back. I cook with zucchini all the time in the summer, so maybe this is the recipe that will get me to try it! Adding the creamy, cheesy flavors sounds killer good 🙂

    Reply
  4. nyonya pendek melaka says

    July 31, 2009 at 3:23 am

    Hi, just stumbled upon yr blog. All yr food looks really adventurous and fantastic!

    Reply
  5. Nina Timm says

    July 31, 2009 at 3:43 am

    You have made farro once or twice before, haven't you!! I'll have to use brown rice, though!! I like the gratin idea to give even more crunch to this dish!!!

    Reply
  6. Arch says

    July 31, 2009 at 3:51 am

    sounds lovely…must try this..u think broken wheat would instead of the brown rice ?

    Reply
  7. Karen says

    July 31, 2009 at 4:29 am

    My grater is my friend. I use it whenever I want my vegetable to "melt" into whatever it is I'm cooking. This also makes it the perfect vegetable cloaking device for those picky eaters in your life. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Suzy says

    July 31, 2009 at 4:58 am

    Thinks looks delish. I have some zucchini and squash to use up and I know I'd love this. I'm going to try with quinoa.

    Reply
  9. Rosa's Yummy Yums says

    July 31, 2009 at 5:13 am

    A perfect combo! I love farro!

    Cheers,

    RosA

    Reply
  10. Pam says

    July 31, 2009 at 5:32 am

    My neighbor just brought me a bunch of zucchini…now I know what to do with it.

    Reply
  11. Parita says

    July 31, 2009 at 7:35 am

    Thats so healthy and love the zucchini in it!

    Reply
  12. Joanne says

    July 31, 2009 at 11:23 am

    This looks to me almost like faro and zucchini mac and cheese. You really can't get better than that!

    Reply
  13. Candy says

    July 31, 2009 at 12:09 pm

    What a great site you have! Love the photography. This zucchini gratin looks good too, I'm thinking of trying this soon…

    Reply
  14. ttfn300 says

    July 31, 2009 at 12:58 pm

    that looks fantastic!!

    Reply
  15. daphne says

    July 31, 2009 at 3:16 pm

    This is the first time I see a recipe using Farro (Not common in Aus)- Learned something new today!

    Reply
  16. SHM says

    July 31, 2009 at 4:27 pm

    Great recipe!

    Reply
  17. diva says

    July 31, 2009 at 4:52 pm

    looks real yummy kevin! x

    Reply
  18. Daniela says

    July 31, 2009 at 5:20 pm

    Deliziosa questa tua ricetta, complimenti anche per il tuo blog ricco di contenuti.
    Ciao Daniela.

    Reply
  19. Zoe says

    July 31, 2009 at 6:56 pm

    I love gratins because they are the ultimate comfort foods and this one is actually good for you! Awesome!

    Reply
  20. Anonymous says

    July 31, 2009 at 8:15 pm

    I would guess the cheese makes all the difference.

    Reply
  21. Liz says

    July 31, 2009 at 9:20 pm

    I only use farro flour, I have never eat it as a whole cereal. I have to try your recipe because it sounds so yummy and… fondant!

    Reply
  22. Cucinista says

    July 31, 2009 at 9:32 pm

    Mmm… cheese and zucchini and gratin — everything wonderful in one dish!

    Reply
  23. Kevin says

    July 31, 2009 at 10:07 pm

    Arch: I have not had broken wheat but it looks like it would work. I am going to have to look for some now.

    Reply
  24. The Duo Dishes says

    July 31, 2009 at 11:33 pm

    So happy to see some farro. We had it at a food fundraiser a couple of weeks ago, and it was too good.

    Reply
  25. Tessa says

    August 2, 2009 at 6:21 am

    Wow this looks delicious! Anything with a crusty topping is bound to be good. I've seen a lot of great farro recipes lately, I'll have to keep my eye out for the stuff.

    Reply
  26. pigpigscorner says

    August 2, 2009 at 2:02 pm

    My current favourite ingredient is zucchini and this is a great way to enjoy it! yum yum!

    Reply
  27. Rich'n'Rach says

    August 3, 2009 at 12:21 am

    This looks delicious-I can't wait to try it! I hope its ok that I added a link of your cooking blog on my own that I just recently started…I think you're great!

    Reply
  28. Cooking with Michele says

    August 5, 2009 at 2:43 am

    I was traveling when you posted this so didn't see you had made my recipe – glad you enjoyed it!

    Reply

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Kevin: I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.
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