Zucchini Parmigiana

Zucchini Parmigiana is made the same way as Eggplant Parmigiana. My Aunt Jean and Uncle Sam introduced us to this tasty dish when we lived in Canarsie. They would come to visit early in the day and bring a pan that they had just prepared that morning, still warm and oozing with melted mozzarella. Bless their hearts, they always brought a couple of loaves of Italian bread, too, from the bakery in their Gravesend section of Brooklyn. Their visits were short and they would never stay long enough to have lunch with us but they would always follow up with a phone call later in the day to see if we enjoyed our Zucchini Parm hero's. Those were the days.

Zucchini Parmigiana

2-3 large Zucchini sliced
2 eggs beaten
1 cup flour
1 lb Fresh Mozzarella cheese, sliced
4 cups Marinara Sauce
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan cheese

Wash and pat dry zucchini, stripe them with a potato peeler and slice into 1/4" rounds (if the zucchini is large enough) or cut zucchini in half and slice lengthwise. Set up a bowl for the flour , add salt and pepper to taste. Set up another bowl for the beaten eggs. Pour about 1/4" of vegetable oil into a large frying pan and heat. Dredge each slice of zucchini into the flour mix, then into the beaten eggs. Carefully place into the frying pan and fry until golden brown on each side. Drain on paper towels. Coat the bottom of a baking pan with marinara sauce and start making your layers. Start with zucchini...then marinara sauce, grated Parmesan cheese and finally mozzarella slices, then repeat layers two more times. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted. If desired, place under the broiler for a few minutes, until the top layer of cheese is golden and bubbly.

** You can also omit the flour and coat zucchini with Italian seasoned flavored dry bread crumbs after dipping in the beaten eggs and then fry the slices.

** Another variation is to add a thin layer of ricotta cheese in addition to the other layers.