A very long time ago, I spent an exhilarating and exhausting day working up an appetite climbing inside the Giza Pyramids in Egypt. Later that night, I ate a dish just like this in a busy restaurant in Cairo. My memories of that meal are layered through with the sounds of noisy waiters running between the kitchen and the small round tables, clanging pots, joyful patrons, and the smart smack of pottery plates, all while dozens of cats walking silently above us on the beams of the restaurant’s ceiling. If you’ve been gardening this summer, or if you’re friends with someone else who has, there’s a good chance that you already have what you need to make this recipe.

• 2 large onions, sliced very thinly
• 2 Tbsp. + 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 10 garlic cloves, chopped roughly
• 4 large tomatoes, diced
• zest of 1 small lemon, plus 1 Tbsp. juice
• 2 tsp. whole cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
• cracked black pepper
• 2 lbs. zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch disks
• 1/4 c. Italian parsley, chopped

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large oven proof or cast-iron skillet. Add onions and saute 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden. Add garlic and stir just until it begins to turn brown at the edges.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add tomatoes, lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper, and spices. Simmer on low approximately 5 minutes until tomatoes cook down a bit and the mixture is slightly dry.

Remove two-thirds of the tomato sauce to a bowl, and spread out the remaining sauce evenly on the bottom of the pan. Moving from the center out toward the edges, layer the zucchini slices in slightly overlapping circles. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Spread half the remaining tomato sauce over the zucchini slices as evenly as possible. Add a second layer of zucchini, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cover with remaining sauce.

Cover securely with foil. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes. Remove foil, give pan a good shake, return to oven, and bake uncovered for 20 minutes more. Let stand 15 minutes, sprinkle with fresh parsley, drizzle with remaining olive oil, and serve. Serves 4.

Thank you to feastingathome.com for this beautiful dish, which they call Rustic Zucchini Tian.