Zucchini Rice Gratin

My CSA delivered a whole ton of zucchini and yellow summer squash this last week. The first recipe I turned to was my tried and true zucchini, goat cheese and walnut pizza. After that I needed some help. My sister in law recommended this recipe from Epicurious and it was a winner. I did make some changes after reading some of the comments on the website though. I'll post the original recipe first and my changes at the bottom.


Ingredients

1/3 cup long-grain white rice
1 1/2 pounds zucchini (about 3 medium), sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
6 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 pounds plum tomatoes, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Cook rice according to package instructions.

While rice cooks, toss zucchini with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a shallow baking pan. Toss tomatoes with 1/2 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt in another baking pan.

Roast zucchini in upper third of oven and tomatoes in lower third, turning vegetables once halfway through roasting, until tender and light golden, about 10 minutes for tomatoes; 20 minutes for zucchini. Leave oven on.

Meanwhile, cook onion and garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt in 2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy skillet, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, until very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir together onion mixture, cooked rice, eggs, thyme, 1/4 cup cheese, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Spread half of rice mixture in a shallow 2-quart baking dish, then top with half of zucchini. Spread remaining rice mixture over zucchini, then top with remaining zucchini. Top with tomatoes and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, then sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

Bake in upper third of oven until set and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

*My changes-
I used about 1 1/2 cups cooked brown basmati rice and it probably could still have had some more. This recipe is pretty wimpy on the rice. I used the brown rice purely because I do not keep white rice on hand. If I was to make it again, I would still use brown rice just more of it.

I also used less oil than it calls for. I calls for a quite a bit of oil at every stage and it just seemed like a lot. I probably cut the oil in half.

I am a garlic nut, so I used 3 large garlic cloves and one smaller one and while the dish was quite garlicky, I thought it was wonderful.

And last but not least, I sprinkled some fresh basil on top of it. My basil plant has gotten quite large and I pretty much add basil to everything now.