Zucchini Slices Baked in the Oven with Cheese and Tomato

Prepare all the ingredients for the baked zucchini with cheese and tomatoes. I used Russian cheese, but you can replace it with any other hard or semi-soft cheese of your choice. Choose based on your taste and available ingredients. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. The dish cooks quickly, so the oven should be well heated.

Prepare the zucchini. Thoroughly wash and dry the zucchini. Cut off the ends and slice into 8-10 mm thick rounds. Note that I used young zucchini, which have a tender skin and no seeds. If you have more mature zucchini, I recommend peeling off the tough skin before using it in the recipe.

Prepare the tomatoes. Thoroughly wash and dry them. Slice the tomatoes into 5-6 mm thick rounds. If your tomatoes are too large, you can cut each round in half or quarters. Choose the tastiest, sweetest, ripe, and fleshy tomatoes.

Arrange the zucchini slices in a baking dish. The size and material of the dish are not essential. I'm using a porcelain dish, which does not require greasing. If you're using a metal dish, you can lightly grease it with vegetable oil or place the zucchini slices on a parchment paper. Place the sliced tomatoes on top of each zucchini slice.

Prepare the cheese filling for the zucchini with tomatoes. Grate the cheese using a fine grater.

Clean the garlic and wash off any dirt. Grate the garlic using a fine grater or chop it finely with a garlic press.

In a deep cup, put grated cheese. Add chopped garlic cloves and mayonnaise. Mix everything well so that the cheese, mayonnaise, and garlic are evenly distributed. If you want to make the dish even less calorie, you can replace mayonnaise with sour cream. In this case, you should check the filling for salt. For a more delicate taste of the cheese filling, fresh garlic can be replaced with dried. It will give only a light aroma and will not have a strong garlic taste. For more spiciness and crunchiness in the cheese filling, you can add chopped walnuts. They go well with zucchini, cheese, and tomatoes. And for more brightness, you can add a little chopped herbs. As you can see, there are many variations. It all depends on your imagination and desires.

Spread the cheese filling on each tomato slice. Remove the mold with slices of zucchini, tomatoes, and cheese into a preheated oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Bake them for 25 minutes. During this time, the cheese will brown and become more gooey.

Take out the cooked zucchini from the oven. The dish can be served immediately, or you can wait until the zucchini cools completely, store them in the refrigerator, and serve as a cold appetizer or a quick snack. By the way, such zucchini will keep well in your refrigerator in a container for up to 2 days. If you want to make the dish more filling, add a slice of ham or a thin piece of meat between the zucchini and tomato.

Serve the zucchini as a standalone dish or serve with mashed potatoes, meat, or fish. The zucchini slices baked with cheese and tomatoes are ready. Enjoy your meal!