Zucchini and Potato Tiella

Tiella is a super easy and simple recipe using minimal ingredients. It is vegetarian, and makes a great side dish. We like to enjoy it with sausage and a green salad. Many tiella recipes use tomato sauce, onions, and even mussels  (which would be delicious too) but we really wanted to honor the simple way that Nanna made this for us growing up. The textures of the softened potatoes and zucchini go so well with the slight crunch from the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. 

Some of Nanna’s best dishes were made with very few ingredients. She used to tell us about how when she lived in Italy, many of these recipes were made because the ingredients were inexpensive and easy to find. Today we enjoy these recipes because they are easy and simple enough to make on a weeknight using fresh ingredients that we often have on hand.

Wise Words From Nanna

Slicing – Slice the zucchini and potatoes very thin so that everything cooks evenly.

Parmesan Cheese – Use a good quality finely grated parmesan cheese like Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano.

Breadcrumbs – Fresh breadcrumbs work and taste the best, but store-bought are great as well! Panko doesn’t work as well for this recipe.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

2 large zucchinis (thinly sliced into rounds)

2 large potatoes (thinly sliced into rounds)

2 tablespoons of fresh chopped Italian parsley

½ cup bread crumbs

½ cup parmesan cheese

¼ cup olive oil

1 tsp oregano

2 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Peel, and thinly slice zucchinis and potatoes, placing them in a large mixing bowl. Toss in olive oil, oregano, and salt. 
2. In a medium-sized casserole dish, spread half of the potatoes and zucchini evenly. Top with half of the parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and parsley. Make sure to spread each ingredient evenly over the vegetables. 
3. Spread the remaining potatoes and zucchini on top. Sprinkle the rest of the bread crumbs, cheese, and parsley to finish off the casserole. 
4. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. The potatoes should be soft when you pierce them with a fork. Top with freshly grated parmesan. 

Buon appetito!

With love,

M & A xo