Parmigiana di Zucca Recipe | How to Make an Italian “Squash Parm”

When autumn comes around and eggplants are no longer in season, do Italians give up their beloved eggplant parmigiana until next year? Well, maybe the “eggplant” part, but not the parmigiana! This is a delicious variation of the Italian classic, which substitutes the eggplant for squash: it’s a perfect, hearty meal for fall!

Parmigiana di Zucca Recipe | How to Make an Italian “Squash Parm”

A Note on Ingredients

This is the kind of dish where everything needs to be done by eye, and according to taste. Every squash is a little bit different, and it can be difficult to predict how many usable slices you can get out of one (see below). Luckily, you can easily adjust this recipe to any size of dish (square, round, or rectangular is fine). We recommend cutting the squash first and eyeballing it to see how big of a dish you can fill, assuming you’ll want 3 to 4 layers of squash slices.

How to Prep the Squash

We’ve found that the top part of a butternut squash (the long, thinner part) is great for making this recipe because it will yield nice, round slices that can be easily layered. You can use the lower, seed-bearing part if you wish, but it gets a little fiddly, and you have to jigsaw different shapes together. Personally, we choose to use that part of the squash elsewhere.

Slice the top section of the squash(es) into round slices, as thin as you safely can. The slices should be peeled, which we recommend doing after you have cut the slices.

Watch the Pasta Grammar video:

PARMIGIANA DI ZUCCA RECIPE

For this recipe, you will need:

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• Butternut squash slices, peeled (see above)

• Salt

• 3 cups simple tomato sauce, or as needed

• Chopped mozzarella cheese, to taste

• Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, to taste

Preheat the oven to 355° F (180° C).

Line two baking sheets (or more, if you need more space) with parchment paper and lightly brush the paper with olive oil. Arrange the squash slices flat on the paper and brush them with more oil, then generously salt the slices. Bake for 20 minutes, or until they begin to soften but aren’t fully tender yet. Remove from the oven and let cool to the touch.

Preheat the oven to 395°F (200°C).

Cover the bottom of your baking dish of choice with a thin layer of tomato sauce. Arrange a single layer of squash slices on top of the sauce (they can overlap slightly, but you can also trim larger slices to fit in small places and corners).

Top the squash layer with plenty of mozzarella and Parmigiano cheeses. Cover the cheese with a thin, even layer of tomato sauce (try not to add too much or the parmigiana will be too wet). Repeat until you have 3 to 4 layers of squash. The final squash layer should be topped with tomato sauce and plenty of Parmigiano cheese on top.

Cover the parmigiana with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese on top starts to brown and crisp—about 10 minutes.

Let the dish cool before serving warm or at room temperature. For best results, let it rest in the fridge overnight and reheat before serving the next day.

Buon appetito!