Recipe: Italian Layered Zucchini a la Ace

A delicate layering of sauteed zucchini, onions, mushrooms, local roma tomatoes, fresh Sweet basil from my garden and mozzarella cheese, garnished with Japanese basil.

Ingredients:

• Zucchini - approx. 4 medium
• Butter/Oil - 2 Tablespoons, to saute the veggies
• Onion - one small white onion
• Mushrooms - about 6-8 oz.
• Basil - handful of fresh Sweet basil leaves
• Tomato - 3 medium roma tomatoes
• Cheese: two handfuls of shredded mozzarella
• Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.

Layer 1 - Zucchini & Onions:

1. Wash the zucchini.
2. Use a vegtable peeler to remove the peels from the zucchini. You can be sloppy with this, as the skin is tasty and healthy but generally removed for softer texture.
   
3. Cut the zucchini into bite-sized pieces.
   
4. Cut the onion.
5. Add the butter/oil to a large frying pan on medium heat.
6. When it is melted, add the zucchini and onions - careful not to splatter the butter/oil.
7. Sprinkle with salt.
8. Saute the veggies.
9. When they become soft, remove from heat and pour into an ungreased 8x12 cooking pan.
   
10. Spread this layer out evenly.
    

Layer 2 - Mushrooms, Tomatoes and Basil

1. Very gently wash the mushrooms, tomatoes and basil.
   
2. Slice the mushrooms, add to pan, spread out evenly.
3. Cut the tomato into bite-sized pieces, add to pan, spread out evenly.
4. Mince the basil and spread it over the veggies.
   

Layer 3 - Topping

1. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.
   
2. Add one handful of mozzarella cheese.
   

Put in 350-degree oven.
Cook for about 30-minutes.
Remove from oven.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Allow to stand for 10-minutes as it will be very warm.

Enjoy!