If you’re looking for a way to use up all that zucchini you couldn’t find a tastier or more satisfying dish than this Zucchini Au Gratin with Rice! This French dish known as Tian de Courgettes au Riz is perfect served as a light dinner or hearty side dish.
Zucchini Au Gratin with Rice (Tian de Courgettes au Riz)
Anyone who grows zucchini is always looking for recipes with zucchini, especially recipes that use a lot of zucchini. Zucchini plants are prolific and before you know it you have more squash than you know what to do with!
One of my favorite ways to use the huge harvests of zucchini from my garden is to make a zucchini tian. Julia Child created a dish known as Tian de Courgettes au Riz where she includes the addition of rice for a more substantial and wonderfully textured variation. I’m sharing my version of this dish which was inspired by hers.
The French term tian refers to both a traditional earthenware cooking pot as well as the method of finely chopping or shredding vegetables, sauteing them in oil, and then baking them in the oven as an au gratin.
This zucchini au gratin packs in a whopping FOUR POUNDS of zucchini! It’s filling enough to enjoy as a light dinner with a leafy green salad or enjoyed as a hearty lunch. It’s a very satisfying meatless meal you can enjoy during the summer months or any time of year (shred and freeze that bumper zucchini)
Featuring a delicious combination of flavors, a wonderfully creamy texture, and loads of nutrition, this zucchini casserole if one you’ll be making again and again!
Zucchini Au Gratin Recipe
Shred the zucchini and place it in a big nonreactive bowl. Sprinkle and toss with the 3 teaspoons of salt. Let sit for 30 minutes. Working in batches and using a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth, wring out as much water from the zucchini in possible, reserving 2 cups of the zucchini water. Set aside.
For the Rice: Place the rice in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, drain thoroughly and set aside. The rice should be al dente.
Note: Either arborio or carnaroli rice (used for making risotto) are the best options as they produce the creamiest results.
In a large saucepan or stock pot heat the fat or oil over medium high heat then add and saute the onions and garlic until soft and translucent and beginning to caramelize.
Note: I highly recommend using duck fat or goose fat (duck has a slightly stronger flavor which I like) for an authentic French experience and the BEST flavor. If you’ve never cooked with duck or goose fat you’re in for a real treat. If you’re unable to buy or order it, substitute half butter and half olive oil.
Stir in the flour and continue to cook for another minute or two.
Pour in the white wine and stir continually to prevent clumping followed by the reserved zucchini water and half and half.
Stir continuously until the sauce begins to simmer and thicken.
Stir in the zucchini, rice, salt and pepper.
Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
Grease a 9×13 casserole dish. Scoop the zucchini/rice mixture into the dish.
Sprinkle the top with the remaining Parmesan cheese and then drizzle with olive oil.
In an oven preheated to 425 degrees F, place the casserole on the middle rack and bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and nicely golden browned on top. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving or until any excess liquid is absorbed.
Serve immediately. For a light dinner serve with a leafy green salad or serve as a side dish with meat, poultry or fish for a heartier meal.
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Zucchini Au Gratin with Rice (Tian de Courgettes au Riz)
Ingredients
- 4 pounds zucchini , shredded
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 cup arborio or carnaroli rice (produces the creamiest results)
- 4-5 tablespoons goose or duck fat (highly recommended for the BEST flavor; can substitute half butter / half olive oil if preferred)
- 1 1/2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 cups reserved zucchini water
- 2 cups half and half or whole milk
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
- Prepare the Zucchini: Shred the zucchini and place it in a big nonreactive bowl. Sprinkle and toss with the 3 teaspoons of salt. Let sit for 30 minutes. Working in batches and using a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth, wring out as much water from the zucchini in possible, reserving the zucchini water. Set aside. Prepare the Rice: Place the rice in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, drain thoroughly and set aside. The rice should be al dente. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 425 F. Grease a 9x13 or 3 quart baking dish.
- In a large saucepan or stock pot heat the fat or oil over medium high heat then add and saute the onions and garlic until soft and translucent and beginning to caramelize. Stir in the flour and continue to cook for another minute or two. Pour in the white wine and stir continually to prevent clumping followed by the reserved zucchini water and half and half. Stir continuously until the sauce begins to simmer and thicken. Stir in the zucchini, rice, salt and pepper. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
- Scoop the zucchini/rice mixture into the baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the remaining Parmesan cheese and then drizzle with olive oil.Place the casserole on the middle rack and bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and nicely browned on top.Let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving or until any excess liquid is absorbed.Serve immediately. For a light dinner serve with a leafy green salad or serve as a side dish with meat, poultry or fish for a heartier meal.
Marian Bell says
Do you know how cruel duck and goose fat extraction is?
Kimberly Killebrew says
Hi Marian, are you confusing this with foie gras (which I agree is incredibly cruel)? In the case of duck and goose fat, the fat is simply a byproduct of the butchering process when the animals are butchered for meat. It’s the same process as butchering cows or hogs and taking the leftover fat from the meat and rendering it into tallow and lard.
Heidi Schmidt says
I lived in Provence for several years. My then mother-in-law made a variation of this with potatoes instead of rice. One trick is to cook down the diced (not shredded) zucchini until most of the moisture is evaporated, that way you don’t end up with a soupy mess. Also added an egg and some creme fraiche in addition to cheese, which was usually gruyere instead of parmesan. She topped with bread crumbs toasted in a pan with butter instead of using more cheese.
Absolutely delicious. One of my favorite dishes ever. Serve with grilled sausages.
Cheri says
This recipe did not work at all fo me unless I wanted soup. I don’t understand why you have to squeeze the water out of the zucchini when you add it back in. Doesn’t make sense to me. I had a big mess preparing and wasn’t even ready when it should have been. I had to give my husband something different for dinner. Very disappointed!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Cheri, the whole purpose of thoroughly squeezing the water out of the zucchini is to avoid exactly what you got…soup!
Maureen says
Is it possible to prepare this to a certain stage ready for cooking? When preparing a big dinner with multiple dishes for guest is appears to be too much work, It looks amazing and I would like to serve it as part of a smoked turkey dinner we have coming up in 10 days.
What do you think?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Maureen, yes you can prepare it ahead of time and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake it. Rice has a tendency to continue swelling as it absorbs the liquids in the dish, so the rice may be plumper and the casserole a tad drier but still thoroughly delicious.
Roger Kocher says
I am looking forward to trying the zucchini recipe. Would it be possible to include metric units for recipes in the future? I appreciate the feature that lets you scale the recipe up or down. I really like using my scale for cooking and especially like metric units for baking. Thanks for your consideration.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Roger, yes I usually include metric but forgot to weigh the ingredients for this recipe. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.
Roberta says
I thought it used too many pots and utensils. It would be much simpler to make zucchini risotto, slicing the zucchini thinly by hand. I also found the amount of onion overwhelming the mild zucchini flavor. The wine did, too. But I didn’t have to stand and stir like I do for risotto so it was good for company when you want to pop a side dish into the oven.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Roberta, I actually made a risotto version for dinner last night and it was very good as well. Lots of ways to approach this.
Kristyn says
One of the best ways to use zucchini!! It’s the perfect side dish, cheesy, & my kids actually eat it, so it’s a win!
Valentina says
This creamy zucchini au gratin recipe is a delicious side dish!
Sara Welch says
This looks incredible! Adding this to my dinner line up for the week; looks too good to pass up, indeed!
Leo says
How about using the zucchini water to boil the rice? I was expecting it to be used for that purpose, adding more flavor…
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Leo, if there’s enough excess zucchini water absolutely. Just be sure to keep 2 cups of it for the recipe.
Kim says
Hi Kimberly! I’ll be making this dish this week. How much uncooked rice would you advise to use?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kim, sorry for the confusion – use 3/4 cups uncooked rice. I recommend either arborio or carnaroli for the creamiest results.
Rohtak says
Such a great recipe