8 ounces crab meat, flaked
2 garlic cloves, crushed
About 4 tablespoons butter, divided
2 medium-size zucchini
1 medium-size yellow onion
3 ripe tomatoes
12 ounces sliced Swiss cheese, divided
1 cup seasoned fine dry breadcrumbs, divided
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large nonstick skillet, sauté crab with garlic in 1 tablespoon of the butter for about 3 minutes. Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Trim zucchini and slice into ¼-inch-thick rounds. Peel and chop onion. In the same large skillet, sauté zucchini and onion in about 3 tablespoons butter until onion is tender and just begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add zucchini mixture to crab in mixing bowl; set aside.
Trim tomatoes and cut each in half crosswise. Hold each half tomato upside down over a plate and gently squeeze out as many seeds as practical (discard seeds). Cut tomatoes into large bite-size pieces and add to ingredients in mixing bowl.
Cut cheese into strips about ¼ inch wide and 1½ inches long. Add two-thirds of the cheese, 2/3 cup breadcrumbs, the basil, and salt and pepper to taste to zucchini mixture. Gently fold ingredients together until they are equally distributed. Transfer mixture to a buttered, 10-by-7-inch (or similar size) baking dish. Distribute remaining ¼ cup breadcrumbs then remaining cheese over top of mixture in baking dish. (At this point if desired, this casserole may be covered and refrigerated for several hours or overnight.)
Bake until mixture is hot throughout and the top is well browned, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes 6 to 8 servings.