Oh my. Look who’s getting all fancy with the vegetables!
It’s as if my garden decided to throw a prom, and the eggplants, zucchini, and tomatoes banded together to show everyone else up. (Clearly they deserve best prize for something, don’t you think?)
Normally I would look at something like this and think it’s waaaay too complicated. But this summer vegetable gratin is actually quite straightforward.
To prepare these vegetables, you have to cut them anyway, so why not cut them in rounds and arrange them in a pretty pattern?
If you recall, Remy, the “little chef” in Pixar’s Ratatouille movie, prepared something similar for Anton Ego, the food critic. This isn’t that dish, but something much easier.
You just sauté onions and bell peppers, layer them at the bottom of a casserole dish, top with rounds of eggplant, zucchini, and tomato. Top that with cheese and bake!
It’s a lovely, easy, colorful presentation for our favorite summer vegetables. A perfect side to take to a party.
Zucchini, Eggplant, Tomato Gratin Recipe
We're topping this gratin with provolone and Parmesan cheeses. You could easily top it with Gruyere instead. For a more Provencal approach, skip the cheese all together and top with bread crumbs, minced garlic, parsley, and olive oil.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups sliced yellow onion (1 large onion)
- 1 cup of sliced red, orange, or yellow bell peppers
- 1 long eggplant (a slender eggplant like a Japanese eggplant, not a large globe, about 1/2 pound)
- 1 large zucchini (about 10 to 12 inches long, 1 1/2 inch diameter, about 1/2 pound), or other summer squash
- 2 medium sized tomatoes
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 ounces Provolone cheese, sliced or grated
- 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Read More: Zucchini, Eggplant, Tomato Gratin
or “Big Two-Hearted River” and pick any random page and the characters are either drinking or eating, though it’s more likely the former. He even titled his memoir, A Moveable Feast.
we use.)
