Tomato and Zucchini Casserole With Crisp Cheddar Topping

This landed in my "recipes you would like" just today. Tried it - and certainly liked it! Very nice!! It's a bit moist (I used cherry tomatoes, which have less seeds and stuff) but the liquid is very tasty. So next time I will put a layer of oats/ricotta-lemon ravioli/other pasta as a first layer to soak up all that goodness. Came together in 15 minutes. I mixed the ricotta/basil/garlic with a fork to prevent it from getting to liquid. Made four servings, just about enough for my wife and me...

As others have suggested, the dish is somewhat watery. We ate it with some good sourdough bread to soak up the juice - delicious!!

I wish I had read the comments. Putting the ricotta in the blender liquefied it and turned the whole thing into soup. Awful.

I was thinking I should use plum/Roma tomatoes to make it less liquidy but I didn’t. There was a lot of liquid, and some of the zucchini were still a little solid to the tooth. My daughter suggested for next time baking the zucchini ahead of time to get rid of some of the liquid. I loved it! I get to take all the leftovers for lunch during the week!

Thanks to all the notes, I roasted the veggies first to prevent excess water then followed the recipe using mint. Also added feta + the ricotta mixture, and what came out was a delicious creamy flavor with the right amount of oat crunch. Will definitely make again.

I make this recipe every summer! I’ve found that salting the tomatoes and zucchini as others have suggested is the way to go. This time I salted generously and left in the colander/bowl for about an hour on the counter, stirring every now and then to encourage the water to release. Also, this time instead of adding the basil to the food processor, I chopped it and mixed it in afterwards because sometimes it turns my ricotta green in the food processor. Loved it!

As some have mentioned, very watery. Tasted much better reheated next day

I didn't read the reviews before making this or I might have skipped it. Unlike some I didn't end up with a soggy mess, but I made modifications: added white beans to bulk it up some and used pattypan squash vs. standard zucchini as I have an overabundance of pattypan right now. I think pattypan may be less watery than zucchini. The delicate flavor and texture of the crumb topping against the ricotta is what made it a winner for me. It was better the second day. It does make a ton.

Salt and drain vegetables. Roast veg first, then proceed. Bread crumbs and parm is just as good. Maybe capers instead of alive.

This was good, the ricotta puree gave it an important kick. Can substitute pesto for fresh basil Can use any combination of corn, tomatoes, summer squash, and zucchini. Can substitute crust for breadcrumbs and cheese dotted with butter.

I was underwhelmed with the flavors although I did not have any problems with watery vegetables. If I make it again I would change the topping. I did not like the rolled oats combination.

I didn’t like this too much; felt gooey with the ricotta mix

This was extremely watery, and I regret not reading the notes first. I would make it again, but I would salt the vegetables, let them reduce their water content, and then roast before topping and just broil the top for crispness. The ricotta mixture is delicious, and I may use it for other applications.

I took the advice of a few commenters and made sure to salt the zucchini and tomatoes separately in bowls before adding to the casserole dish. I also seeded the tomatoes. Once salted I let them sit to release some of the juices and then dried them as I added them to the casserole dish. No issues with this being watery at all! It was perfect. Very different and very tasty.

We're usually big fans of Melissa's recipes, but this was completely unsuccessful. We could identify no redeeming qualities, and the preparation is considerable to boot: you're using the food processor *and* working butter into an oat topping with your hands. Perhaps if the recipe title hadn't included the word "crispy" we'd have been less disappointed; crispy it was not. A rare miss from Melissa.