Crisp Tomato Zucchini And Eggplant Bread Gratin Food

END OF SUMMER VEGETABLE GRATIN

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the shallots, garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon thyme in a baking dish. Bake, stirring halfway through, until lightly caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool.
• Line 2 baking sheets with cooling racks. Divide the eggplant, yellow squash and zucchini between the 2 sheets. Season the vegetables with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Firmly press the vegetables with a kitchen towel to remove excess water. Lift the racks from the baking sheets and brush off any excess water and salt. Transfer the vegetables onto the sheet trays. Add the tomatoes to one of the sheet trays. Toss each type of vegetable with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon thyme and salt and pepper to taste.
• Make one stack of vegetables on a baking sheet. Start with 1 tomato slice, top it with 1 to 2 slices of zucchini, depending on the size, 1 to 2 slices of yellow squash, and then top with 1 slice of eggplant. (The zucchini and yellow squash slices should fill the same amount of space as the tomato and eggplant; if they are smaller slices, use two.) Place the stack on its side in the baking dish, on top of the caramelized shallots. Repeat making stacks and adding them into the baking dish in a spiral, working from the outside inward. If there are extra vegetables, add them to the center of the dish at the end. Sprinkle with the fontina and Parmesan. Bake until the vegetables are tender and the cheese is melted and golden brown, 35 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes.
• Garnish with the basil and serve with crusty bread.

ZUCCHINI, EGGPLANT, TOMATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the oven rack in the center position.
• Slice the eggplant, zucchini, and tomato: While the onions and peppers are cooking, slice the eggplant and zucchini in 1/4-inch thick round slices. You'll also want to slice the tomato into 1/4-inch thick slices, but depending on how big your tomato is, you may need to cut the tomato in half or in quarters first. All of the sliced vegetable pieces should be about the same size to make it easier to layer them in an attractive manner.
• Bake, then broil to finish: Cover with foil (it helps to grease the underside of the foil with a little olive oil so that the cheese as it melts does not stick to the foil). Bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil. Turn on the broiler and broil for 5 minutes or until nicely browned.

TOMATO, SQUASH AND EGGPLANT GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 2-quart rectangular or oval baking dish.
• Combine the vegetables in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil, chopped rosemary and thyme leaves and toss gently.
• Arrange the vegetables in rows in the baking dish in this order: tomato slice, eggplant slice, tomato slice, squash slice, onion slice, tomato slice, eggplant slice, tomato slice, etc. Each slice of eggplant should have a tomato slice on either side. The vegetables should not be lying flat; they should be arranged in the dish as if you had stacked them, then lay the whole stack in the dish, all of the rounds slanting slightly to one side. Insert the herb sprigs into the dish. Pour any juice left in the bowl on top. Cover tightly with foil.
• Place in the oven and bake 1 hour. Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 30 minutes, until the vegetables are thoroughly tender and lightly colored on the edges.

CRISP TOMATO, ZUCCHINI AND EGGPLANT BREAD GRATIN

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a colander, toss the eggplant and zucchini with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and let stand for 20 minutes. Drain well and gently squeeze out any excess liquid. 2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir the olive oil with the garlic. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the garlic-infused oil. Tear the bread into 2-inch pieces and line the bottom of the baking dish with bread, fitting the pieces tightly together. Drizzle the bread with 2 tablespoons of the garlic oil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the bread with half of the basil. 3. In a medium bowl, toss the eggplant and zucchini with 2 tablespoons of the garlic oil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the tomato slices with salt and pepper. Arrange the eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes over the bread, overlapping them if necessary. Sprinkle with the thyme leaves, salt and pepper and drizzle with the remaining garlic oil. 4. Bake the gratin for about 40 minutes, until the vegetables begin to brown and the bottom of the bread is golden brown. Remove the vegetable gratin from the oven and let stand until cooled slightly, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining basil, cut into pieces and serve. MAKE AHEAD The gratin can be baked up to 2 hours in advance. Reheat in a 350° oven or serve at room temperature.

EGGPLANT AND TOMATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Roast the eggplant.
• Meanwhile, to make the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy, preferably nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes, and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about a minute, and add the tomatoes, salt (1/2 to 1 teaspoon), pepper, sugar, and basil sprigs. Turn the heat up to medium-high and when the tomatoes are bubbling, stir well and turn the heat back to medium. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and are beginning to stick to the pan, about 25 minutes. Remove the basil sprigs, wiping any sauce that adheres to them back into the sauce.
• Put the sauce through the fine blade of a food mill if you have not peeled the tomatoes. Otherwise pulse in a food processor fitted with the steel blade until coarsely pureed. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Set aside 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and mix with the breadcrumbs. Oil a 2-quart gratin or baking dish with olive oil. Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce over the bottom of the dish. Slice the roasted eggplant about 1/4 inch thick and set an even layer of the slices over the tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon a layer of sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with basil and Parmesan. Repeat the layers one or two more times, depending on the shape of your dish and the size of your eggplant slices, ending with a layer of sauce topped with the Parmesan/breadcrumb mixture you set aside. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the top. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until bubbling and browned on the top and edges. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature.

EGGPLANT AND TOMATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Place eggplant slices in a single layer of the baking sheet.
• Coat slices with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt.
• Bake in a 375° oven for 16 minutes, turning eggplant after 8 minutes.
• In a small bowl, mix together the cheese, oregano, pepper, and garlic.
• Arrange half the eggplant slices in an 8x8 square baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray.
• Place half the tomato slices over the eggplant.
• Top with half the zucchini slices; sprinkle with half the cheese mixture.
• Repeat layers; bake, covered, at 375° for 1 hour.
• Uncover and bake 10 more minutes or until vegetables are tender and cheese is golden.