Zucchini Gateau with Melting Heart

You will need some ingredients to prepare the delicious Zucchini Gateau with Melting Heart. Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients

• 500g of zucchini
• 200g of ricotta
• 100g of grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• 100g of mozzarella (or another melting cheese of your choice)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Bread crumbs as needed
• Extra virgin olive oil as needed

Preparation

1. Begin by grating the zucchini and squeezing out the excess water.
2. In a bowl, mix the grated zucchini with the ricotta, Parmesan, eggs, a pinch of salt, and pepper to taste. This is the base mixture for your gateau.
3. Take some single-portion baking molds (or a muffin tin), grease the bottom and sides with a little oil and coat them with bread crumbs. This will help to get a crispy crust and prevent the gateau from sticking.
4. Start filling the molds with a layer of your zucchini mixture, then add a cube of mozzarella in the center, which will act as the “melting heart.”
5. Cover the mozzarella with more zucchini mixture until the molds are filled.
6. Dust the surface of the gateau with more bread crumbs and drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C (356 °F) for about 20-25 minutes, or until the surface is golden brown, and the gateaus are cooked inside.
8. Let them rest for a few minutes before unmolding the gateaus and serving them.

Curiosity

The zucchini gateau with a melting heart is a vegetarian variation of the classic potato gateau. It brings to mind the flavors of Mediterranean cuisine and can be served both as an appetizer or as a main course. The melting mozzarella inside offers a pleasant contrast with the softness of the zucchini and the crispiness outside. It’s a dish that lends itself to variations, for example, by adding fresh herbs or cooked ham for a non-vegetarian version.