Squash Gratin

 Squash Gratin is a healthy spin on potato gratin, which usually includes heavy cream and lots of butter. This is flavored with seasonings and only a pinch of butter is added to make bread crumbs crunchy. I still included cheese in it of course. I prefer feta, but you can use your favorite cheese to make it your own.



Ingredients:

zest of one lemon
3 large zucchini, sliced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp parsley
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp minced garlic, or powdered garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups fresh bread crumbs **See Note
5-6 small red potatoes, thinly sliced, transparently thin
1/4 cup feta cheese

Heat oven to 400. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil and zest of a lemon on bottom on a baking or casserole dish. Set the sliced zucchini in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Let it sit for about 10 minutes so excess water can drain off of them. Melt butter in pan until browned but not burned, add fresh bread crumbs, and toss together. Set aside off of heat. In small bowl, mix olive oil, oregano, parsley, garlic, sea salt, and red pepper flakes with a whisk. In large bowl, mix the sliced potatoes, feta, and drained zucchini. Add olive oil mixture to the potato and zucchini bowl. Add all the mixture to the prepared pan and sprinkle the bread crumbs on top. Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and cooked through. This will vary greatly with the amount of water in each potato and zucchini as to how long it needs to cook. Enjoy! We ate it too fast to get a finishing picture. It was delicious!

*Note:  I just put whole wheat bread slices on the oven racks while the oven was preheating to make them toasty. It helps to have bread somewhat stale or toasty to absorb the butter.