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Meatless Monday – Tiella: Italian for Gratin

November 1st, 2010

 Michael Chiarello’s Casual Cooking introduced me to tiella. Some references to tiella call it zucchini casserole (yick) but I think it’s just another term for gratin. Basically what sets tiella apart is its combination of zucchini, potatoes and spinach.

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I used Chiarello’s recipe as a base but did three things differently: I cooked the spinach in the oven as opposed to blanching it; I used yellow squash instead of zucchini and I used slow roasted Early Girl tomatoes in place of the tomato sauce.

 

Roasting spinach may seems like a weird concept but it is really the most efficient way to cook spinach. I used this technique at my restaurant and at Project Open Hand and have never blanched spinach since.

Roasted Spinach

1 lb. spinach
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, minced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash and lightly spin dry the spinach leaves. Place on a cookie sheet and sprinkle the salt, pepper and minced garlic over the top. Drizzle the olive oil and then stir the spinach around to distribute (you can also do this in a bowl but I air on the side of washing fewer dishes).

Place in the oven for about 7 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir around again. Allow to cool completely before chopping and using.

Tiella
Adapted from Michael Chiarello’s Casual Cooking. This recipe takes up to 1 1/2 hours in the oven. It would be heavenly with oven cooked polenta or with a simple salad.

2 small to medium sized Russet potatoes, thinly sliced (a mandoline or food processor is highly recommended to do this, but you can just cut them 1/4 to 1/8  inch    thick any shape you prefer)
2 yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 lb of roasted spinach (see above)
2 cups of roasted Early Girl tomatoes, with the accumulated juices
grated Italian cheeses, like Fontina, Parmesan, Asiago and Provolone ( I used a combination of these)
panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper
EVVO

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prep all the ingredients. Oil a ceramic or oven-proof glass baking dish. Place a layer of the potatoes on the bottom, slightly over lapping them. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and layer on some of the roasted spinach. Now add some of the roasted tomatoes.

Spread some of the grated cheeses and panko bread crumbs over that. Now layer on some summer squash and then potatoes again. Season with salt and pepper. Continue layering, finishing with a layer of potatoes. Top this with more cheese and the bread crumbs.

Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours (You can prepare this the night before and bake the next day, just allow it to come to room temperature before baking or increase your baking time by another 1/2 hour). I like to remove the foil the last 10 to 15 minutes so that the top gets nice and brown.

Entry Filed under: Savory Recipes,Uncategorized,Vegetarian