Gluten free tomato-zucchini gratin

This week's Food Matters Project recipe is a savory tomato crisp hosted by Nicole. When I read over the recipe, a gratin immediately came to mind. Normally you add breadcrumbs and butter, but I decided to lighten it up a bit and use what ingredients I had on hand.

I added zucchini and onions along with cherry tomatoes. I didn't have any bread for the topping, but I did have a lot of brown rice leftover from this feast. So I used rice in place of the breadcrumbs and oats, blending it with walnuts, herbs, and farm fresh chèvre.

This might not be the prettiest dish ever and it definitely falls apart, but even the pickiest of tomato eaters enjoyed this take on a lighter gratin. And your gluten free friends dinner guests will be happy!

Gluten free tomato-zucchini gratin
1 pint cherry tomatoes (minus a few, so the cook can have a snack)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2.5 T olive oil
1/4 of a yellow onion, diced small
3 garlic cloves, minced
half of a zucchini, sliced thin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3/4 c cooked brown rice
1/4 c walnuts
3 T chèvre or goat cheese
4 T parsley, basil, and dill mixture, minced

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a small ceramic dish (loaf pan or divide into 4 ramekins) with half a tablespoon of olive oil.

Cut cherry tomatoes in half length-wise. Toss with 1/4 tsp of sea salt and pepper. Set aside in a small bowl.

Make the topping. Put the rice, walnuts, chèvre, and herbs into a food processor. Process until smooth. Add a dash of olive oil, if needed.

Layer the zucchini slices, overlapping each other, on the bottom of the ceramic dish until you run out of zucchini. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil, onion, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Add the cherry tomatoes on top. Drizzle with another tablespoon of oil. Add the topping, scattering across the tomatoes.

Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake for another 5 minutes, so the top can get a bit crispy. Enjoy!