Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Provençal Vegetable Gratin

While on the topic of good food, here's a great summer dish. Easy to put together, healthy, and absolutely delicious. Go to your local farmers' market to get the ingredients, and be sure to get some heirloom tomatoes, they make all the difference between a good dish and a fabulous dish. Makes 2-3 servings.

3 large potatoes
1-2 zucchini
1 eggplant
1 large red pepper
4 shallots
3 cloves garlic
3 large tomatoes
Salt, Pepper
fresh thyme
olive oil

Peel the potatoes, slice thickly (about 1/4" or 1/2cm thick) and layer on bottom of lightly oiled casserole dish. Sprinkle with salt and fresh thyme (rub the thyme first). Wash and cut the other vegetables (except for the tomatoes) -- slice the zucchini, dice the eggplant, cut the pepper into chunks, and thinly slice the onions and garlic. Mix everything together. Put half of the vegetables on top of the potatoes, season with salt, coarse pepper, and fresh thyme. Add a few drops of olive oil and then place the rest of the vegetables on top and season again. The tomato skins can be removed, if desired; slice the tomatoes and place on top of the vegetables. Season again with salt and thyme and cook in preheated oven (ca. 180°C or 375°F) for about an hour. Check occasionally that the tomatoes don't turn black (if this happens, cover with aluminum foil). Drizzle with olive oil and serve with french bread. Freshly grated parmesan can be added if desired, but is usually only needed if there's not enough salt on the veggies.

(from Wolfram Siebecks Kochschule für Anfänger)

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