This recipe is for that time in the summer, when you are drowning in zucchini – it uses A LOT! It’s all over the Internet; find it on Food52, Smitten Kitchen has a version, and other places online. I am lucky enough to have it my mother’s original Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 2, published in 1970 (although my mother’s says seventh printing, 1973 – I was 18). I’ve updated the directions and made them a little more straightforward (IMHO), although I did leave out some of Julia’s edicts to taste, carefully, or critically, another of her favorite adverbs.
2 to 2 1/2 pounds zucchini
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup white rice
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup minced onions
2 large cloves garlic, mashed or put through a press
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups warm liquid: zucchini juices plus milk
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
about 2 additional tablespoons olive oil
Grate the zucchini and place it in a colander set over a bowl. Toss with the kosher salt and set aside to drain for about 30 minutes.
Fill a saucepan that holds at least two quarts about 2/3 full with water, and bring to a boil. Drop the rice in, let it come back to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Heat the 3-4 tablespoons olive oil in a wide skillet, add the onions and garlic and cook gently over medium heat until translucent and soft but not brown, about 10 minutes, then raise the heat for a few minutes and lightly brown.
Heat the oven to 425°.
Squeeze the juices out of the zucchini with your hands, reserving the liquid in the bowl under the colander, and transfer the zucchini to a clean dish towel. Wrap the towel around the zucchini and twist to squeeze more juice out, into the colander/bowl. Dump the zucchini into the skillet and stir to combine with onions and garlic. Sprinkle in the flour, and stir to combine well.
Measure the zucchini liquid and add milk to make 2 ½ cups. Heat the liquid in the microwave, and pour slowly into the skillet. Stir well, bring to a boil, and stir until slightly thickened.
Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in all but 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese and the rice. Transfer the mixture to a well buttered, 2-quart, shallow, baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese, drizzle with olive oil, and bake in the 425 oven until nicely browned, bubbling, and the rice has absorbed all the liquid – about 20-30 minutes. If you bake it a little too long it gets a brown crust on the bottom that is delicious.
For Orange Tree Imports, Farmers’ Market to Table class, August 2019