Oma With a View: Roasting Tomatoes....Mock Eggplant Parmesan...54º

My Mom was a great lover of eggplant, many years ago...She sliced it, dredged it in flour, dipped it in beaten eggs and fried it in bacon grease or lard adding butter to either of these to get that browned flavor that comes from butter...We didn't worry about fats being bad for us as we worked hard and needed food that would stick with us and fuel our bodies...We devoured whatever she put on the table...When eggplant wasn't available, she substituted zucchini...A large platter of fried zucchini would grace the table along with platters of lamb chops, mashed potatoes and gravy and fresh sliced veggies...When I was first married, I introduced Herb to fried zucchini, he tried it, it was okay so over the years It became a summer dinner and both kids liked it...It was messy and time consuming to cook so I continued to look for ways to make it easier...My niece Susan came up with the idea to grate the zucchini, mix it with eggs and fry it on a griddle like pancakes then serve it in fried patties...Much easier, less messy and didn't soak up so much grease...I liked this idea so began to experiment with my own variations...One day in Walla Walla I ordered Eggplant Parmesan...Yummmm, At home I sliced zucchini (no eggplant) in rounds did all the dipping, frying, then added tomato and cheese...It was good but way too messy and too time consuming...The lightbulb finally went on in my head why won't the zucchini patties work?...So the "Mock Eggplant Parmesan" was born or "Idella Zucchini Casserole"...The first comments I hear when I take this to a potluck is "Oh that lasagna smell good or I can't eat that, all that pasta, makes me fat"...I just smile because most people can't resist tasting it...Okay enough blathering on with the recipe.

First you must understand that cooking is not an exact science, recipes are made to be altered which I do freely depending on what ingredients I have on hand...Below you will find the recipe for roasted tomatoes and zucchini casserole. In a previous blog I posted recipe and photos of roasting tomatoes check it out...Have fun with this so far it has alway turned out edible...Hugs To All...OWAV:

ROASTED TOMATOES

Roasting tomatoes brings out their flavor, and they can then be used to create tasty pasta sauces, bruschetta, added to soups or casseroles. Use fresh, ripe, flavorful tomatoes for the best results.

10 to 15 ripe tomatoes

2-4 cloves garlic, chopped (sometimes I add bell peppers and onion)

1-2 Tbl. chopped basil or dried

Salt & pepper (Optional, I like course salt)

Olive oil (optional)

Preheat oven to 250-300 degrees. (I do the first ½ hour at 400 deg.) Core & halve the tomatoes, and place skin side down on a large baking sheet. (If tomatoes are really large I slice them into 3 slices). Sprinkle the tomatoes with garlic, basil and salt. Drizzle with a little olive oil and place in the oven. Bake for 3 hours until they have shriveled yet still remain moist. Cool and use as desired or package in ziplock bags and freeze for winter sauces.

Lovely Roma's

Taking the chance that my readers won't care if I sound like a broken record, once again I will expound on roasting and freezing tomatoes instead of canning them...USDA wants you to add acid (vinegar or lemon juice) to tomatoes, increase the processing time or even pressure cook them...I want to be safe but I also prefer that my tomatoes taste like tomatoes not lemons or vinegar...A favorite when I was growing up was a bowl of tomatoes fresh from the jar with a slice of Mom's homemade bread and butter.

Step l - I'm using romas but any tomato will work they will just have more juice...Wash tomatoes, then core slice in half and place in a cookie sheet, skin side down.

Sliced Roma's

Step 2- Drizzle with a good quality oil, sprinkle with fresh garlic, basil (dried will also work) and coarse salt...Three of these sheets will fit in my oven, each sheet holds about 4# of tomatoes...I set the oven on 200º and roast for 3 to 5 hours depending on the tomatoes and how dry you want them...

Ready for the oven.

If I am in the house I will switch the pans around in the oven periodically but if I'm outside working in the garden they roast fine all on their own...I do have a convection oven.

Tomatoes done roasting

Step 3 - First thing I do is slurp a couple of these tasty morsel, using my fingers, right into my mouth, then I toast a slice of homemade sourdough bread, slide a couple more onto the bread and see if they still taste like I remembered from a year ago...AAAhhhh that concentrated sweet tomato with a burst of garlicky goodness and just a hint of sour from the bread...Are you salivating YET?

Tomatoes ready for the freezer

Step 4 - If there are any tomatoes left on the tray after cooling :)... I slide them into ziplock sandwich bags...The tomatoes concentrate down to less than half of what they were in the raw state...I squish the bags, pushing out all of the air possible, then to double bag these I put 4 of these bags into a gallon ziplock for their final storage in the freezer...They are flat and stack nicely, they are simple to take one or more bags at a time for soups, sauces or casseroles...Of course for a large family you can use a larger bag to start with and I do recommend double bagging them...Happy tomato roasting...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

ZUCCHINI CASSEROLE

Grate one large zucchini (approximately 10 inches long.) I use a very course grater...Mix in with a fork 4 to 6 eggs…place large spoonfuls of the mixture and cook on a griddle like you would pancakes, browning on one side and flipping to the other…Barely cover the bottom of a casserole dish with roasted tomatoes, layer zucchini patties on top of the tomatoes, then a layer of mozzarella cheese... keep layering, with tomatoes, zucchini and cheese until casserole dish is full…Bake in a 325° oven for about 30 minutes…Don't overcook…I serve it warm or cold, eat it for dinner or breakfast…Just love it anytime…It works well with the frozen roasted tomatoes…

NOTE* Since none of you will have roasted tomatoes, I think you can use a recipe for marinara sauce or a good quality marinara sauce from the store should work…Maybe add a little more garlic, basil, onion or herbs of your choice. Eat and enjoy, Idella

Below are photo's of start to finish casserole. I grate zucchini, mix, fry and assemble casserole as i'm frying patties so a large casserole can be made and ready for the oven in about 30 minutes...In the first photo I have one large zucchini grated...Break eggs over top and start stirring with a large fork until egg coats all of the grated zucchini.