Un buon inizio

Dopo il suo soggiorno in Italia, conquistato dalla cucina e i sapori del Belpaese e dal piacere di stare a tavola, Matthew ha comperato questo libro.

Tra i pregi: le descrizioni del procedimento, dettagliate e chiare, e la breve introduzione sulle caratteristiche dell'ingrediente in questione che precede la relativa successione di ricette.

Dato il successo che ha riscosso con Matt, per me e' diventato "un buon inizio" che ho regalato a diversi americani appassionati di cucina per avvicinarli a quella italiana.

Questa e' una delle mie ricette preferite, tratte da questo libro.

ZUCCHINI GRATIN WITH TOMATO & MARJORAM

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds fresh zucchini

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon chopped garlic

½ cup chopped onion

1 cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice

majoram, ½ teaspoon if fresh, 1/8 teaspoon if dried

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

salt

black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

an oven-to-table baking dish

3 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Soak and clean the zucchini, trimming away both ends, and slice them into very thin disks.

Preheat oven to 400’

Put half the oil and all the garlic in a sauté pan, turn the heat on to medium high, and cook the garlic, stirring, until it begins to be barely colored. Put in the zucchini rounds. Turn them over completely once or twice to coat well, and cook until they are limp, stirring occasionally. Take off heat.

Put the onions and remaining oil in a small saucepan, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it becomes translucent, then put in the tomatoes with their juice and the marjoram. Turn the tomatoes over completely once or twice to coat well, and cook at a steady, but gentle simmer until the oil floats free of the tomatoes, about 20 minutes. Take off heat, and swirl in the parsley, salt, and several grindings of pepper.

Smear the bottom of the backing dish with a little of the oil in the saucepan. Spread half the zucchini in a level layer on the bottom of the dish, cover with half the tomatoes sauce from the saucepan, and sprinkle over it 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan. Make another layer with the remaining zucchini, topping it with the rest of the sauce and the last 2 tablespoons of Parmesan.

Place the dish on the uppermost rack of the preheated oven, and bake for 15 minutes or more, until the cheese melts, and the top become colored rather brown.

After taking the dish out of the oven, allow it to settle for about 10 minutes before bringing it to the table.

Buon appetito!

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