Crisp Tomato, Zucchini and Eggplant Bread Gratin

Food & Wine (September 2008)

There are dishes that taste of seasons. 

Green salads mark the arrival of spring, while BBQ chicken always conjures summer in our minds.  And short ribs evoke winter in all their braised glory. For us, fall means honeycrisp apples and butternut squash, and we're terribly excited about both coming into season.

But right now we feel like we're in between seasons: The weather is cooling off, but it's still awfully warm.  Some summer vegetables are still widely available -- we even got tomatoes last week from our CSA -- and fall vegetables are just coming into season.

If pressed to identify a taste that captures this summer/fall limbo, we nominate this Crisp Tomato, Zucchini and Eggplant Gratin.

Last summer we nearly drowned in eggplant -- our CSA had an abundance of it and we took home several pounds each week.  We could never quite find recipes that seemed just right, except for the Barefoot Contessa's fantastic Roasted Eggplant Spread. 

If we only knew then what we know now! 

This simple gratin, made with season vegetables cooked atop pieces of torn bread, is simply phenomenal.  Roasting the vegetables brings out all their wonderful flavors. The bread crisps up amazingly, providing a nice contract with the vegetables.  And the herbs -- basil and thyme -- add to the dish's fresh taste. 

We plan to make this -- or an adaptation of it -- many times in the future. 

What flavors are you most excited about for fall? 

Crisp Tomato, Zucchini and Eggplant Bread Gratin
Food & Wine (September 2008)
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(This Photo: Food & Wine)

ACTIVE TIME: 30 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 50 MIN
SERVES: 6

Ingredients

    * 1/2 medium eggplant, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
    * 1 medium zucchini or yellow squash, sliced 1/4 inch thick
    * Kosher salt
    * 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    * 4 garlic cloves, minced or mashed
    * One 14-ounce loaf rustic white bread, crusts removed and bread sliced 1/2 inch thick
    * Freshly ground pepper
    * 1/2 cup torn basil leaves
    * 3 medium tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
    * 1 teaspoon thyme leaves

Directions

   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.

Comments

[Wendy French]

I love this blog! I just made a version of the Creamy Tomato pasta you guys posted about.

My favorite fall flavors are butternut squash, honey crisp apples, peppery arugula, and sugar pie pumpkin. & I never tire of soup!

[Mandy]

the gratin looks delicious! And I have to check out the roasted eggplant spread!

[maggie]

Isn't it weird, the in-between season. It's wild, braising one day, and making tomato salad the next...

[Kari]

Great blog concept! I live out of my bon appetit, food and wine, and gourmet magazines for recipes. Ill be back:)

[heather]

oh this sounds delicious! i love zucchini, and i love anything with bread :) i'll bet mozzarella or goat cheese and pine nuts would be tasty on this!

[Zach @ The Bitten Word]

@ heather -- yes, absolutely! The recipe made a big deal about how "light" and "refreshing" this gratin was because it didn't contain any cheese. But it was all we could do not to layer on some mozzarella. Next time!

[Bonnie and Leigh]

This was the most delicious recipe, and perfect for the first blustery Fall day in Chicago. Thank you for sharing! I used cherry tomatoes because they looked gorgeous at the farmers' market, and the dish was delish.

[Mrs. L]

Does hot cocoa count as a flavor? :) I have yet to buy an eggplant and cook with it. I see such lovely ones at the farmers market so maybe I need to give this a try. What would one do with all that bread crust though?

[Zach @ The Bitten Word]

@ Mrs. L -- yes, I know! This did leave a lot of crust. You could make squirrels in your back yard very happy. (Or rats, if you live in an apartment. So maybe scratch that.)

You should cook with an eggplant! It's really versatile, and it's got a great flavor.

One thing to remember, though -- as this recipe states, you should salt and drain your eggplant before you use it in a recipe. (The salt helps draw the water out.) Otherwise, the eggplant can be soggy and bitter-tasting.

[Sasha]

Thanks for a stellar recipe... I subtracted the bread and substituted a Chardonnay-Garlic grapeseed oil for the olive oil... Delicious.

[Coffee and Vanilla]

It sounds absolutely delicious!!