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No, it’s not the casserole that’s gigantic, it’s the zucchini! I don’t grow zucchini or summer squash because my family just isn’t that wild about it. Plus, one plant would provide more squash than we could eat in a month! But we’re still not safe from the zucchini avalanche that happens this time of year. A retired couple with a garden up the street found a gigantic squash in their garden yesterday and brought it to us. The wife said she loves zucchini but her husband doesn’t, and she couldn’t bear to slice off a piece and throw the rest out. This thing was monstrous: imagine a zucchini the size of a mega roll of paper towels!
I managed to use half of it in a recipe in place of the called-for noodles. It was so simple that Kate made the casserole. Everyone raved about it, even the kids who wouldn’t touch zucchini with a pair of gardening gloves! I made some homemade cottage cheese, homemade yo-cheese and creme fraiche to go in it, so this was a very, very local, seasonal dish! (Please forgive the horrible photography. When I went back for a second shot, the dish was EMPTY!)
Gigantic Zucchini Casserole
Half of one three-pound zucchini (or three to four normal-sized ones), julienne cut
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 organic yellow onion
1 pound grassfed ground beef
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup homemade cottage cheese
1 cup homemade yo-cheese
3 tablespoons creme fraiche*
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (any color)
2 green onions, green part chopped
Preheat the oven to 350°. Heat coconut oil in skillet and brown chopped onion and ground beef, stirring occasionally until the beef has browned. Add salt, pepper and tomato sauce, allow to simmer while preparing cheese.
Mix together cottage cheese, cream cheese, creme fraiche, bell pepper and green onion in a bowl. Lightly rub a 9×13 pan with coconut oil. Layer half the julienned zucchini in the dish, the cover with all the cheese mixture. Add the rest of the zucchini, then the meat mixture. Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes.
Note on ingredients: Creme fraiche is another easy-to-make ingredient. Add two tablespoons of cultured buttermilk to a pint of fresh (NOT ultrapasteurized) cream and mix it up. Leave it on the counter overnight, refrigerate in the morning. Use it instead of sour cream, especially when your food will not be heated to preserve the good bacteria it contains!
This post is part of Tuesday Twister, hosted by GNOWFLGINS.
I don’t buy cottage cheese on a regular basis, but will sometimes substitute it for ricotta cheese if the budget is too tight. Making it from scratch was fun, very, very simple and I got to use my delicious raw milk!
Homemade Cottage Cheese
makes 1 cup
1 quart raw milk
3/4 cup white distilled vinegar
a pinch of salt
a few tablespoons whole, raw cream
Heat the milk just to 120° on the stovetop. Remove it from the heat and stir in the vinegar. Stir slowly and gently as the milk separates into curds and whey. Cover the pot and let it sit 30 minutes. Line a strainer set over a bowl with a tea towel or piece of muslin and pour the curds and whey into the strainer. Allow to drain about 5 minutes. Gather up the ends of the cloth or towel and hold the cheese ball under running cold water as you massage, knead and mix around with your hands. In a few minutes, the water draining off the cheese ball will be clear. Wring the cheese out as dry as you can and set it in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt and mix with a fork, breaking the curds up into the size you prefer. Immediately before serving, pour a little cream over the curds.
The Dark Side of Fat Loss
