I regularly make au gratin at home, but it is usually blanched vegetables such as cauliflower and peas in a white sauce and with a lot of cheese. This is the first time I tried it with just grated zucchini. The taste, when made with Julia Child's recipe, was awesome, with the butter and the fresh taste of the sautéed zucchini, vying with the cheese for flavour and aroma.
The video was not a great success, as a part of it was shot with my husband trying to shoot the video and a part of it with me holding my iPhone in one hand, and whisking the sauce with the other! However this delicious Zucchini au gratin has become a favourite at home so I'm re-posting it with images captured when I last made this again.
Preparing Zucchini for Au Gratin
Place the grated zucchini (including the grated peel) in a colander and squeeze out the water. It is important to squeeze out as much water as possible, so that the au gratin does not turn soggy.
The volume will reduce drastically once the water drains out, so you may need to keep this in mind while deciding how many zucchini you need to use.
Grating the zucchini as in Julia Child's original recipe, brings out the flavour of the zucchini as well its unique texture. I tried making the zucchini au gratin with thinly sliced zucchini once, and it didn't have the rich creamy taste that comes with grated zucchini that just melts into the sauce.
I like to have the au gratin hot with a nice herb filled focaccia or some fresh bread. A simple soup would round it off to a full meal.
Other Au Gratin and Zucchini Recipes:
Zucchini Au Gratin from Julia Child's Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups grated zucchini
- ¼ cup shallots diced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- To Taste salt
For the sauce:
- 1.5 Cups milk
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 2 Tablespoons Parmesan grated
- To Taste pepper
- to taste salt
Instructions
To Prepare the Ingredients:
- Julia Child's recipe calls for green zucchini and that's what I have done. You could use yellow zucchini instead, but either way use any one colour of zucchini for the gratin.
- Once the water is drained and the zucchini sauteed, the volume will go down, so check for the quantities you need to prepare and increase the volume of sauce proportionately.
- Grate the zucchini using a box grater.
- Squeeze out the liquid from the grated zucchini, let it stand for about 15 minutes and then squeeze again to get rid of any extra water.
- Water allowed to remain could make the gratin soggy. Drain away as much as you can.
- Mince the shallots or onions, if using.
- Grate the cheese.
- Grease a casserole dish (OR individual ramekins, if preferred).
To make Julia Child's Zucchini Au Gratin
- Heat two tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium high heat.
- Add the minced shallots and sauté on low heat for about 4 minutes, until the shallots are soft and translucent.
- Add the grated zucchini and salt to taste and continue sautéing for another 5 minutes, or until the zucchini is soft and a bright green.
- If there is some water remaining, cook the zucchini a little longer till the water evaporates. Remove from heat.
- Transfer to the casserole or ramekins. Spread the zucchini evenly.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius).
To make the Sauce:
- Warm a pan over medium heat, and then melt the remaining two tablespoons of butter on low heat.
- Once it is melted and bubbly, add the flour and whisk constantly until the raw smell of the flour disappears and the mixture turns beige, like the colour of peanut butter, about 2-3 minutes. The whisking is important so that the sauce does not catch at the bottom of the pan.
- Slowly stream in the milk, whisking while you pour.
- Continue whisking until no more clumps of roux remain.
- Season the sauce with salt and pepper, keeping in mind that the zucchini has already been seasoned.
- Continue whisking over medium heat until the sauce thickens, ie about 5 minutes. The sauce needs to be thick, or else the gratin could become mushy.
- Once thick, pour the sauce over the zucchini in the greased casserole, stir it in.
- Check for the seasoning and if required add a little more salt and pepper and mix it in well.
- Sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese evenly on top.
- Bake zucchini au gratin for 20 minutes or until it is bubbly and the top is golden.
- Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve with warm crusty bread.
- I usually add a layer of breadcrumbs to au gratin to give a nice crust and some texture to the dish, however as this recipe of Julia Child's does not suggest breadcrumbs, I have not add the same. Similarly I have not added any herbs, though mint, tarragon or parsley would go well with the zucchini.
Archana says
Wow! I want to try making this right now! I love the fact that there not a long list of ingredients plus Juila Child recipe an added bonus. Love it
Sujata Shukla says
Thank you so much Archana. This is comfort food in this chill weather!
Sujata Shukla says
Glad it came out well!
Lux says
This was delicious. I added some garlic, red peppers and grated potatoes. Loved it!
Sujata Shukla says
Thank you, Sundari! It tasted quite delicious!
Sundari Giri says
The recreated dish is quality great as the first one
Sean Pennyman says
Thank you so much! This looks so fantastic 🙂
Sujata Shukla says
Preparation steps have now been added
Sujata Shukla says
Yes, will do
Sean Pennyman says
Great cooking video 🙂 But can you add a step-by-step description so that I can read through the recipe while I make it?