A creamy bake that’s only 250 calories per serving (as a main!). The proper (fancy) name of this dish is Tian de Courgettes au Riz and it is a Julia Child recipe. It is like a cross between a gratin and risotto. Naturally healthy with no butter or cream, fabulous to serve as a side or main, and can also be prepared ahead.
**Directions to veganise this included**
My cooking revolves around what’s in season and what’s on special. On this occasion, you guessed it, my local supermarket obviously had an overstock of zucchini because they were on special at $2.40/kg (2 lb) (normally they’re $6 to $8/kg). So I bought 2 kg (that’s 4 pounds!). I couldn’t help myself – zucchini’s are so versatile, I was sure I would use them up in a week.
Hmm, I didn’t quite realise how much space 2 kg of zucchinis would take up in my fridge. So I went in hunt of a recipe that would use a lot of zucchinis and that’s when I came across Julie Child’s Tian de Courgettes au Riz (Zucchini Tian).
A “tian” is a a type of baking dish that is shallow and also describes the name of the dish that is cooked in it. It is like a gratin except the vegetables are cooked in their own juices. There were a few things that caught my eye about this recipe.
1. ALOT of zucchini – It calls for 1kg/2lb of zucchini, grated. That’s ALOT of zucchini. You wouldn’t guess there’s that much in it by looking at the photo;
2. Zucchini Juice – The cooking liquid uses the juices that sweat / are squeezed out of the zucchini. I thought that was an interesting and thrifty technique and I was curious how well it would work;
3. “Risotto Like” A lot of people enthusiastically wrote about how “risotto like” this dish was. But it only required 1/2 cup of rice (for 4 servings). “Ke? How is that possible?” I wondered. “Are people just saying nice things because it’s a Julia Child recipe?”; and
4. High Liquid to Rice Ratio – the other thing that made me really dubious was the liquid to rice ratio. The recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups of liquid (zucchini juice + milk) for 1/2 cup of rice. Using standard ratios, 1/2 rice would require 3/4 cup of water to cook. I was convinced this dish would turn out soggy with overcooked gluggy rice.
Once I made it, yet again I was reminded that you should always trust the Great Julia Child. The dish worked brilliantly. It IS risotto like – I was truly amazed how far you can stretch 1/2 cup of rice. This is partly because you use more liquid than you normally do to cook rice which makes the grains swell more. And it wasn’t soggy at all. The consistency is like a gratin – as you can see in the photo when you serve it up, it holds its shape, it isn’t gooey.
The grated zucchini makes the dish seem creamy. And the zucchini juices gives the dish a subtle zucchini fragrance that you wouldn’t otherwise get if you made it using stock, or if you sauté the zucchini to remove the liquid.
The most amazing thing about this is how healthy it is. This recipe is enough for 4 generous servings and only has 250 calories per serving. This is how you get your risotto fix guilt free!
Sorry Julia, for doubting you. You are yet to let me down. 🙂
More zucchini recipes
-
Healthy Cream of Vegetable Soup (Zucchinis are the secret ingredient for ultra low cal creamy white soup!)
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Zucchini Tian (Naturally Healthy)
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2 lb) zucchini
- 1 brown onion , finely diced (1 cup)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 3 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 2 1/2 cups warm liquid: zucchini juices plus milk , heated in a pan (see directions)
- 2/3 cups parmesan cheese , grated
- 1/2 cup medium grain white rice , uncooked (Note 6)
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
Prepare the Zucchini
- Grate the zucchini and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 2 tsp salt and use your hands to mix through well.
- Place zucchini in a colander over a bowl to collect the juices that sweat out. Leave for at least 20 minutes.
- Squeeze the liquid out of the zucchini, straining the liquid through the colander to add to the zucchini juices collected.
- Rinse the zucchini under cold water for 15 seconds, then squeeze out excess water, but this time do not save the water that is squeezed out.
- Pat the zucchini with paper towels to mostly dry.
To Prepare Gratin
- Top up the zucchini juices with milk to make a total of 2 1/2 cups of liquid. Warm liquid in microwave or on the stove.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy base pan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and sauté for 8 minutes until translucent and starting to turn golden.
- Turn heat up to medium high, add the zucchini and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat. Add all but 2 tbsp of the parmesan cheese and stir quickly to combine.
- Do a taste test to check for seasoning. Add more salt if desired, and a good grind of black pepper. I do not add more salt as I don't think it is required.
- Add rice and liquid. If making ahead, stop here, then proceed with the next step on the day of serving.
To Bake
- Preheat oven to 220C/425F
- Return pan to heat and bring to simmer.
- If the pan you are using is not ovenproof, pour the contents into a buttered baking dish.
- Sprinkle over the remaining 2 tbsp of parmesan cheese and drizzle over the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil.
- Cover with lid or foil, then place in the top 1/3 of the oven.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the lid/foil and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes until the top is golden and the liquid appears to have been absorbed. (Tilt the dish slightly. If liquid pools then return to the oven for 5 minutes at a time.)
- Rest for 10 minutes. While resting, any residual liquid will be absorbed.
- Best served immediately.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Absolutely delicious! It’s now a regular in our house and the kids love it. We make it for everyone and it blows their minds – how good it is and what it is!
How did it take me so long to find this gem (and Julia is my queen) I subbed a finely chopped leek for the onion as we love them and the dish was fabulous with your roast chicken! Thank you, this one’s going on rotation 😀
Loved this recipe and will make again, delicious!
You are my regular,” go to”,for recipes, they are the best, easy to follow and always successful.
My husband and friends love my cooking thanks to you, I am constantly recommending your website.
You are the best!
Rita
I made this last night. Absolutely delicious. Thank you Nagi. Real comfort food. Like a gently flavoured, savoury rice pudding perhaps. Creamy and starchy without being heavy.
I substituted some grated cheddar and semi hard goat cheese for the parmesan which I didn’t have. I baked only half the mixture (2 serves) in an enamel pie dish. I’ve actually frozen the other half of the mixture to see how it goes thawed and baked.
Will make again.
Made this last night with last seasons grated frozen Zucchini – thawed the Zuc’s with no salt and so plenty of liquid. Added salt and a tad more cheese on tasting and the result was really great !! A definite repeat recipe … as are soooo many of your Nagi
This is so so good! Had a dental procedure yesterday, needed something mushy but delicious, and this was the ticket 👌🏻
This was not on my radar until it was brought to my attention
Definitely be on repeat as it was absolutely delicious
OMG. How does this work, but it does and to perfection. Huge success, it’s already been requested to make again soon.
Made exactly to recipe.
Absolutely delicate flavoured dish. Cooked twice now and a favourite.
A winner.
one of the best ways to use up a stack of home grown veg. Came out a bit salty but I probably didn’t rinse the zuchinni properly. With only 1/2 cup of rice in the whole thing it is a low carb winner! Recipe needs a note to preheat oven at the start!
Hhmm…., I cooked this tonight having read the rave reviews.
I found it very bland, though my son said he really liked it. My husband ate it but didn’t comment.
Won’t do it again.
Having posted the above comments, my husband said the zucchini was lovely and my son sa8d he would definitely have it again!
Another sensational recipe. Used the food processor to speed up grating mythe four zucchinis. Didn’t need the extra five minutes at the end. It was perfect.
So good! Make it, its delicious! Child friendly too 😋
Perfect
Addictive
Low Joule, but tastes like it’s rich and creamy
My partner HATES zucchini, but weirdly loved this highly zucchini laden recipe
How does this taste sooooo good? There’s not much to it, easy to prepare and uses up lots of zucchini. Served with a simple tomato and basil salad it was really delicious. THANK YOU Nagi 😍
I cannot believe how tasty this was! I also can’t believe how much rice there is throughout the dish with such a small amount actually added. I really don’t know how this recipe works but it genuinely does! Magic 💫
This was really tasty. I was getting sick of eating zucchini every day but this was so delicious I will be happy to eat it again tomorrow! Thanks Nagi.
Surprisingly I love this because I think zucchini is just okay. My husband plants it and we had HEAPS so I tried this recipe and it’s so yummy! We only had basmati and it absolutely worked just fine! Can’t see why basmati or jasmine wouldn’t work?
Loved this! It seems very adaptable: I only had about 700g of zucchinis so I used carrots to make up 1kg. I also didn’t have Parmesan so I used ricotta. I forgot to simmer the mix with everything on the stove before putting it in the oven and it still came out perfect! Good to know I can make these subs
This was excellent! I was worried it would be bland but it was super flavorful!