Eggplant Tomato Gratin

When summer gardens are in full productivity it's a great time to make a vegetable gratin. I was inspired to do just that after watching Jacques Pepin's program on the Create/PBS station one afternoon. He was preparing an Eggplant-Tomato Gratin.

Jacques Pepin is one of my most favorite TV chef's and his most recent series follows his most recent book, "Heart & Soul In The Kitchen". I have this book and I highly recommend it. In it he shares many vegetable gratin dishes but I think this one is by far my most favorite.

 

 

"Eggplant-Tomato Gratin"

2 eggplants, preferably long, narrow Chinese eggplants (about 14 ounces total)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 ripe tomatoes (about 1 pound)
1 cup diced (1/2-inch) day-old baguette
3/4 cup diced (1/2-inch) Gruyere cheese (about 3 ounces)
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1/3 cup minced fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Trim off both ends of the eggplants. Cut them crosswise in half, then cut each half lengthwise in half, so you have 8 pieces.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Pour 2 tablespoons of the oil on the foil and put the eggplant slices cut side down in the oil. Turn the slices cut side up and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt.

Bake the eggplant for about 20 minutes, until tender. Remove from the oven.

Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes into 1/2-inch slices.

Process the diced bread and cheese in a food processor for about 30 seconds, until very coarsely chopped.

Arrange the baked eggplant pieces in a 4-cup gratin dish, alternating them with the tomato slices. Sprinkle with the thyme, chives, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Toss the bread and cheese mixture with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and spread on top of the vegetables. (The gratin can be prepared to this point hours ahead.)

Bake the gratin for 30 minutes, or until crusty and brown.

Serve.
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I always enjoy using fresh herbs from my herb garden and I do have thyme and chives. My chives are garlic chives but I liked the mild garlic flavor added to this dish. Fresh herbs give each dish a special taste and too it's always comforting to cut things from your garden to use in any dish.

 

This smelled just heavenly prior to popping it in the oven.

 



Lightly browned and a perfect side dish to almost any meat. It was so very good, an outstanding combination of flavors. I could have made a meal just off of this dish. My Mr Picky Eater loves eggplant so I knew in advance that this would get a huge thumbs up. I wasn't wrong, he LOVED it.

An excellent summer side dish and I hope you'll try this recipe.

I will be linking this post to Foodie Friday hosted by Michael Lee West at Rattlebridge Farm. To view other excellent recipes shared click HERE.

Enjoy your weekend, Carolyn