pomodori alle zucchine

Buying produce in Japan can make a person very spoiled. Why? Because in most supermarkets they only sell PERFECT items. Everything is wrapped, and perfectly packed. This means you will almost never run into something with mold or something that is squishy. Even the shape of the fruit or vegetable is perfect. To me, as long as the fruit or vegetable isn't rotten, I'd be willing to take the imperfect ones at a lesser price.

So as a result of the flooding last month, the price of veggies here is still very high, but I've been reading so many posts by my blogging friends where they use tomatoes as a main ingredient to create something wonderful. I had to join in and decided to try a new recipe for tonight's dinner from "The Silver Spoon".

When I went to pick up the ingredients, there were 2 zucchini with half price tags on them. I looked carefully at them, felt them, they were still in good condition. After purchasing them, I opened the saran wrap--which was so tight around them, I almost couldn't get it off! They were perfect except for a couple of fingernail marks dug in at the ends! I felt lucky to get them so cheap!

Tomatoes with zucchini (Pomodori alle zucchine) Serves 4
Ingredients
Olive oil for brushing and drizzling
8 tomatoes
2 zucchini, trimmed
1 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprig, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
7 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Brush an ovenproof dish with oil. Thinly slice the tomatoes without cutting all the way through, leaving them joined at the base. Halve the zucchini lengthwise, then slice into thin strips. Slip the strips of zucchini between the slices of tomato. Place the tomatoes in the prepared dish, sprinkle with the parsley and garlic, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven but do not switch the oven off. Carefully slip slices of mozzarella between the slices of tomato and zucchini, sprinkle with the oregano and return to the oven for 10 minutes until the mozzarella starts to form strings. Transfer to a warm serving dish and serve immediately.

Notes: I totally ad-libbed and ended up making it lasagne style--I layered all the ingredients, added some baby shrimp then baked the whole thing for 30 minutes, and then put it under the broiler for another 10 minutes.
I also steamed some corn (which was really sweet!) This dish was really delicious!

Enjoy!