Zucchini Gratin With Bacon: An Easy Recipe

Do your children sulk at the sight of green vegetables? How about preparing a dish that the whole family will agree on? The zucchini and bacon gratin is a recipe that appeals to both young and old, making it easy for everyone to enjoy a much-maligned vegetable like zucchini.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients needed to prepare a zucchini gratin with bacon for 4 people:

600 g of zucchini.
1 white onion.
125 g of smoked bacon bits.
50 g of grated cheese.
50 cl of milk.
30 g of butter.
30 g of flour.
1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Grated nutmeg.
Salt and pepper.
A knob of butter for the gratin dish.

Note: to make this recipe, you can use the grated cheese of your choice, such as Emmental, Comté, or Gruyère.

Preparation of sautéed zucchini

To prepare a zucchini gratin with bacon, you need to start by cooking a sautéed zucchini dish.

1- Wash the zucchinis, remove the ends, and then cut them into thin slices.

2- Peel and finely chop the onion.

3- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, then sauté the chopped onion with the smoked bacon.

4- Add the zucchini slices and sauté them with the onion and bacon for about ten minutes.

Note: At this stage of the recipe, the zucchini slices should be barely cooked and not too soft.

Preparation of Béchamel sauce

The zucchini gratin with bacon is topped with a delicious cheese béchamel. As a reminder, here are the steps to prepare a béchamel sauce.

1- Melt the butter in a large saucepan.

2- Add the flour and stir for 2 minutes using a wooden spoon to make the roux.

3- Pour the milk in a thin stream while stirring.

4- Thicken the béchamel sauce over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk.

5- Season with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg, then incorporate half of the grated cheese. Mix the sauce well until the cheese melts.

Assembly of zucchini gratin with bacon

Once you have prepared the zucchini and bacon stir-fry on one side and the cheese béchamel sauce on the other, assembling the gratin is very easy.

1- Butter a gratin dish.

2- Pour the zucchini and bacon stir-fry into the bottom of the dish.

3- Cover with béchamel sauce.

4- Sprinkle the zucchini and bacon gratin with the remaining grated cheese.

Cooking the gratin

1- Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2- Bake the zucchini and bacon gratin for about 20 minutes.

3- The gratin is ready when the top is nicely browned.

4- Serve this gratin hot, accompanied, if you wish, by a green salad or some mesclun.