Here’s one for that zucchini that got away on you. Creamy and unctuous, juicy and refreshing, it’s a vegetable lasagne without the pasta, finished with a cheesy custard in the manner of moussaka.

Ingredients

• 1 marrow or 4 or 5 zucchini, sliced lengthwise 5 ml thick. I cut the marrow in the photo in half accross the middle first to make two shorter halves.
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 500gm fresh tomatoes (about 3 largish ones) seeded and diced, or 1x 400 ml can chopped tomatoes in juice
• Handful of fresh basil
• 200 mls cream
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup grated cheese

Method

1. Saute the onions gently in olive oil with the garlic and when soft add the tomatoes. Cook until the moisture has boiled away. Season to taste with salt
2. Drizzle some olive oil in the bottom of an oven proof gratin dish. Layer half the zucchini in the bottom. Scatter half the basil over the zucchini, then half the cheese, then all the tomato mixture. Layer the remainder of the zucchini slices over the top.
3. In a bowl whisk the eggs and cream. Pour this mixture over the top of the zucchini and scatter the rest of the cheese over
4. Cook in a 180 C oven for half an hour or until the zucchini is soft, the custard set and the top browned