Zucchini “Flower”

This fun creation was so easy!! You could even let your children help you grow THIS flower! And it tastes as good as it looks! It was ready in about 30 minutes (if you cut your zucchini very thin), start to finish, as I keep a recipe of my pesto sauce made up in the fridge at all times. Life is just so much easier when you keep stuff made ahead. This recipe is only Induction friendly if you leave the nuts out of the pesto sauce.

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INGREDIENTS:

9-10 oz. zucchini, sliced VERY thin

3 T. pesto sauce (or commercial pesto sauce)

6 T. grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 plum tomato

Dash each salt and black pepper

¼ tsp. dried, crushed oregano leaf (or 1 tsp. fresh chopped)

1 T. olive oil (a little more if using thicker, commercial pesto sauce)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a shallow round baking dish or pie plate with a film of olive oil. First, slice the zucchini very thin (I used a Rival slicer on the thinnest setting). I had a very long zucchini, so I had to cut mine in half to get slices the right length for my ceramic quiche dish. After thinly slicing all the zucchini, pull out the prettiest, rounded-end slices for the top layer. After all, you’re striving for a pretty flower! 🙂 Fan out a single (about 1/3 of the slices), slightly overlapping layer of zucchini in a circular fashion. radiating from the center to make the first or bottom layer of “petals” of your zucchini “flower”. See the picture for what I’m trying to describe here. Dot with 1 T. of the pesto thinly over this layer. Next sprinkle with 2T. of Parmesan, salt, pepper and oregano. Now fan another layer of zucchini slices for your second layer, fanning out the outer ends a bit. Dot with another 1T. of pesto sauce and follow with a sprinkle on 2T. of Parmesan, salt, pepper and oregano. Lay the final layer of “petals” of zucchini prettily in a similar fan fashion. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan, salt, pepper and oregano. Strategically place the tomato slice in the middle for your flower’s centerpiece. Drizzle the 1T. olive oil all over the final flower petals and pop into 350º oven for about 20-30 minutes or until zucchini is tender at the thickest/tallest center area when you insert a sharp knife point. Serve at once with your favorite baked or broiled meat or fish entree.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains:

147.25 calories, 13.45g fat, 3.05g carbs, 1.05g fiber, 2.0g. NET CARBS, 5.1g protein, 162 mg sodium