This meal feels truly luxurious and elegant. It’s simple, it’s quick, and best of all it keeps the heat out of the house in summer. Zucchini can easily be swapped for eggplant, there’s lots of room for additional layers like mushrooms and spinach, or a ground meat of choice into the sauce, in cooler months we would add lamb or pork for extra heartiness. Summer time is all about light but nourishing foods for us and this grilled vegetable parmesan always hits the spot.

Ingredients:

• two to three medium to large zucchini – sliced lengthwise about 1/4 inch thick
• a few large tomatoes, or canned whole san marzano tomatoes.
• garlic
• lots of Basil – a couple cups of leaves, and at least 5 stems if from the garden
• fresh mozzarella cheese
• parmesan cheese
• olive oil

Instructions:

To begin, add your sliced zucchinis (or eggplant) to a colander and salt very well. This draws out the moisture and gives a better texture to the final product. Place in sink and let rest for at least 20 minutes. Meanwhile start the grill – we use wood or charcoal so this process takes a while to get everything to heat.

Make your sauce. I love a simple tomato sauce, where the ingredients really shine. To do this in a hurry, I use a can of whole peeled san Marranos, a long pull of olive oil, a few leaves of basil or some fresh oregano (one or the other – both is too much) and one clove of garlic smashed to release its flavor, and salt. Add to a sauce pan on a gentle heat, and using a potato masher, smash the whole tomatoes until you have smaller chunks. Salt, stir, taste, repeat. There should be no bitterness, no saltiness, no super acidic taste, just an enhancement of the sweetness of the tomatoes. You’re looking for that zing when you taste it and when you get there, stop! When all your ingredients zing alone, they will sing together. Alternatively, if your kitchen garden is loaded with tomatoes this time of year like mine soon will, use fresh but account for cooking time. You’ll want to slice, add into the pan with some salt and a little olive oil, begin cooking and then remove the skins. You’ll need to smash them with a tomato smasher and let them cook down a bit more to reduce the water.

Next, give the zucchini a quick rinse in the colander to wash away excess salt. Then, gently pat dry or lay flat on a cooking sheet and dry all together. They are ready for the grill. We are looking for a quick sear on each side so that they are cooked but not mushy.

Time to layer! In a cast-iron skillet, add a big dollop of sauce to cover the bottom, then layer the grilled zucchini in one direction, add another dollop or two of sauce, a layer basil leaves and don’t be shy here, then cheese. We tear off lengths of fresh mozzarella and space it evenly, being sure to not overdo it. For the next layer, add the zucchini in the opposite direction, perpendicular to your first layer of them. And continue as before, next sauce, then basil, and cheese. For the top layer, add lots of mozzarella, and then add a good sprinkle of parmesan. We always use a microplane grater for ours.

Place the whole skillet on the grill and let it cook. This keeps the heat out of the house on a hot day and adds so much depth of flavor. This step varies in time depending on how hot your grill is. We let our coals cool slowly and add ours at this point, if you are on propane, turn the heat down a little. This step can be between 250-400 degrees. You’ll know it’s finished when the sauce bubbles, cheese is melted, and the top cheese is browning and bubbling.

When it’s finished, allow to cool for around 5-10 minutes, and serve with some fresh sourdough bread, toasted on the grill to mop up all the sauce, and a quick side salad dressed lightly in lemon and olive oil. For an even more filling meal, you could serve with a side of pasta.

Enjoy!