Zucchini and Goat Cheese Stacks

A recent trip to France inspired this Zucchini and Goat Cheese Stacks recipe. We prepared this plate of deliciousness during our wonderful cooking class in Provence at La Cuisine Provencale. Our version isn’t nearly as pretty as the dish we created in St. Remy-de-Provence, but it was equally delicious. The tangy-ness of the cheese along with the flavor of the nuts, zucchini, and oil truly give this dish a delicious Mediterranean vibe.

Serve this dish as an appetizer, a side, or even a main vegetarian course. It somewhat resembles the veggie stacks we often make when we are picking loads of garden zucchini, eggplant, and tomato from our summer garden.

We prepared the original dish with with sauteed zucchini strips, shallots, goat cheese and pine nuts. It was topped off with a drizzle of delicious locally sourced olive oil. We tweaked this a bit when we made this recently as we did not have pine nuts on hand, but had loads of walnuts in the pantry. We also chose to grill the zucchini strips instead of sauteeing them. Since we were already planning to grill herbed chicken, we figured we would take advantage of the hot grill!

You can slice the zucchini with a mandolin on a wide setting, but slicing them by hand (as we did in the cooking class) allowed us to make them a bit thicker. The thicker slices made for a sturdier, heartier, dish.

Once grilled/sauteed, layer the zucchini with a generous portion of goat cheese and arrange in a fun criss-cross pattern. Sprinkle shallots (if using) around the dish. At this point, you can set the dish aside/in the fridge until just before you are ready to serve. Bake in the oven to melt the goat cheese a bit. If you have some extra pesto hanging around, feel free to drizzle that on for extra flavor. Top with toasted nuts and oil, and Voila!

Zucchini and Goat Cheese Stacks

This Provencal dish is adapted from a recipe we prepared with La Cuisine Provencal's Jane Satow.

5 from 1 vote

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Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine French

Ingredients

  

• 2 zucchini small/medium size
• 2 Tbsp shallots, chopped optional
• 8-10 goat cheese use plain, herbed, or a combination
• olive oil for sauteeing and drizzling
• ¼ cup pine nuts or walnuts toasted in a dry pan
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp pesto optional

Instructions

 

• Slice Zucchini into thick strips with a sharp knife or with a mandolin on a very wide setting.
• Chop shallots if using. Shallots will be sauteed with the zucchini strips, adding flavor. If you are grilling your zucchini instead of sauteeing, you can omit the shallots.
• Heat olive oil in a large sautee pan. Sautee shallots and zucchini in batches so they pre-cook and turn a light golden brown. Be careful not to burn the shallots. You will sprinkle these over the dish to add a bit of flavor later.

  OR

  Spray/brush zucchini with olive oil and grill for just a minute or two per side, depending on the thickness.
• Assemble zucchini and goat cheese in layers in an oven safe baking dish. Sprinkle with shallots (if using). Drizzle with olive oil. Bake.
• Meanwhile, toast nuts in a dry pan until fragrant. Be careful not to burn.
• Top the stacks with pesto (optional), nuts, drizzle with oil, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Keyword entree, french, goat cheese, mediterranean, provencal, vegetarian, zucchini