Skillet Zucchini Parmigiana

Name: Skillet Zucchini Parmigiana
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Zucchini 2.6 lbs; Tomato purée 4 ¼ cups; Mozzarella cheese 5.3 oz; White onions ¼ cup; Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese 1.1 oz; Garlic 1 clove; Basil to taste; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Fine salt to taste

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Serving: 4
Cost: Low

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PRESENTATION

Skillet Zucchini Parmigiana keeps every element that makes parmigiana worth making — layered vegetables, tomato sauce, melting mozzarella, a finish of basil — and moves the whole thing from the oven to a single pan. Zucchini stand in for eggplant, the cooking time shortens considerably, and the result is just as soft and pull-apart stringy as the baked version it replaces.

Because the layers cook together on the stovetop, the mozzarella melts into the sauce and the zucchini stay tender without turning watery — soft and genuinely stretchy in the way a good parmigiana should be. The dish holds at room temperature as well as it does straight from the pan, which makes it a natural fit for summer dinners when zucchini are at their most abundant and the oven can stay off.

How to prepare Skillet Zucchini Parmigiana

To prepare the skillet zucchini parmigiana, first finely chop the onion 1. In a saucepan add the extra virgin olive oil, a clove of garlic 2 and the chopped onion 3.

Salt immediately and let it sweat over medium-low heat for about ten minutes 4, adding a little water if necessary. Now pour in the tomato passata 5 and scent with fresh basil 6.

Season with salt 7, stir and cook over medium heat for about 30–40 minutes 8. Once the sauce is ready, turn off the heat and set it aside 9.

Now move on to the zucchini: slice them with a mandoline 10 to obtain a thickness of 2–3 mm 11. Lay the zucchini slices in a nonstick skillet with a drizzle of oil, taking care not to overlap them 12.

Salt and cook over medium heat for 3–4 minutes per side 13. When all the zucchini are cooked, you are ready to assemble the parmigiana: take a nonstick skillet with a diameter between 8.7 in (22 cm) and 10.2 in (26 cm). Spread a little sauce on the bottom 14 and cover with the zucchini slices, slightly overlapping them 15.

Add more sauce 16, then sprinkle with grated Parmigiano Reggiano 17 and cubed mozzarella 18.

Continue in the same way until you have three layers in total 19. Once the ingredients are finished, drizzle the surface with a little oil 20. Cover with a lid, put over the heat and cook for 15 minutes, keeping the flame at medium or slightly lower 21.

After this time, remove the lid and continue cooking for another 10 minutes to let the parmigiana dry out a bit 22. Turn off the heat and perfume with fresh basil 23. Your skillet zucchini parmigiana is ready to be served 34!