Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Butter or oil a baking dish approximately 8x11in/20×25 cm.

Make the pasta:

Place a strainer in the sink. Have a measuring cup ready as well.

Fill a large pot with salted water and bring it to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it to just al dente: it will be cooking further in the oven. Before straining the pasta, reserve one cup pasta cooking water.

Tip the strained pasta back into the pot. Set pot aside, off heat.

Cook the vegetables:

I did not peel or seed the zucchini or tomatoes, but feel free to do so. If tomato peel in a cooked dish annoys you, drop raw tomato in boiling water for 20 seconds or so; this will loosen the peel, easing its removal. Otherwise, it will come off in cooking and you can remove it from the pot. Or not.

Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Slice the zucchini into coins. Chop the tomatoes.

Pour the olive oil into a large saucepan. Add the butter. You want enough oil and butter to coat the bottom of the pan. Once the butter is melted, add the garlic and onion. Cook over gentle heat for five minutes or so, until vegetables become translucent. Do not allow to brown; if they are browning rapidly, turn heat down.

Once alliums are translucent, add zucchini, tomato, and wine, if using. Turn up the heat a bit. If the pan is dry, add a little more oil. If the pan is really dry, add some water.

Stir well. Let the vegetables cook down, 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid sticking. Salt and pepper lightly; the sauce will seasoned pretty highly.

Once the zucchini has browned and the tomato has cooked down considerably, tip the vegetables into the pasta pan.

Make the Tomato Cream Sauce:

Using the same pot you made the vegetables in, add more olive oil and butter to the pot.

Pour in the dairy. Slowly shake in the flour. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Given the size of the pot, the dairy/flour mixture will seem scant. Don’t worry.

Once the flour is integrated, or seems like it’s getting there, add the tomato paste. Gradually add the tomato sauce. If at any time the sauce gets grainy, grab a fork or whisk and have a go at it. Remember you are the boss. Do not let a pot of sauce intimidate you.

Now add the mozzarella, in pieces. It may take a few moments to melt, but it will. Meanwhile, add the seasonings.

Stir until the sauce is integrated. Now taste: it might need more salt or tomato paste; decide. Once it’s to your liking, turn the heat down to lowest setting.

Tip the pasta and vegetables into the baking pan, making sure everything is evenly distributed.

Give the sauce a final stir, then carefully pour it over the pasta and vegetables. Sauce should come about 3/4 of the way up the sides of the baking dish. If it doesn’t, add enough pasta water to compensate.

Scatter panko over the top of the pasta, or not, place pasta dish on a baking sheet, and slide it into the oven. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until bubbling hot.

Serve zucchini and tomato baked pasta hot, warm, or at room temperature. Leftovers are wonderful eaten cold on bread, which sounds weird but really is good.

Leftover zucchini and tomato baked pasta may be refrigerated in a lidded container up to four days. Freezing is possible but not recommended, as the vegetables will become soggy.

Zucchini and tomato baked pasta may be assembled up to four days ahead of time and refrigerated. Cook directly from the refrigerator; expect the dish to take a little longer to cook.

As noted in the post, the dish may be prepared using vegan milks and cheeses.

If you keep company with zucchini haters, feel free to use other vegetables in the dish. Eggplant, potatoes, artichoke bottoms and red peppers all work here. So do leafy greens like chard, mustard, and collards.