Thanks to my friend Diane, I went to see a movie and came home with a cornucopia of fresh, organic produce. Diane, a Master Gardener who specializes in edible gardens, had been to a garden swap and brought two huge baskets full of veggies, including some unique varieties of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, etc. with names I don’t remember, and encouraged us to take whatever we wanted. It was a veritable farmers market in the Regal Cinema’s parking lot!
Now, with a huge bowl of veggies from Diane and my garden on my kitchen counter, I set to thumbing through my cookbooks and the gorgeous two-page photo spread of the mise-en-place for Summer Vegetable Gratin in Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc At Home caught my eye. Here tomatoes, squash, and eggplant are layered on a cooked onions and baked with a cheese and bread crumb topping. I actually sliced an eggplant but didn’t use it because my baking dish was smaller than the 9×13 suggested and I reduced the amount of onions and tomatoes that the recipe called for.
The recipe states that this is a good dish to assemble ahead and then bake before serving. I ended up hurrying to slice everything up and get it in the oven as soon as the Young Baker was finished making the cookies she was taking to a sleepover and in my hurry forgot to sprinkle the fresh breadcrumbs that I had made on top. Not to worry, this didn’t stop us from devouring every bit of this gratin down to the delicious vegetable juices in the bottom of the baking dish. Light in comparison to most gratins, this dish makes an excellent side to any protein or a satisfying meatless main with a side of quinoa, brown rice or a slice of hearty whole grain bread.
- 1 medium yellow squash
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 medium tomato
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely grated with a microplane
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- freshly ground pepper
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
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Using a mandolin or sharp knife, thinly slice (¼ inch) the yellow squash, zucchini, and tomato as close in size as possible.
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Heat the canola oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Reduce to med-low, add the onions and garlic and cook without browning, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 15 minutes. Remove from burner. Stir in the thyme.
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Combine the yellow squash and zucchini in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil, and season with salt. Drizzle the slices of tomato with olive oil and season with salt.
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Combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs, and thyme.
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Spread the onion mixture in the bottom of an 8½ inch round shallow baking dish. Layer the vegetables in the dish overlapping the slices in a circle beginning with the zucchini. Then a circle of yellow squash overlapping the zucchini and ending up with a center of overlapping tomato slices. Sprinkle with half the cheese mixture and continue making overlapping rows with the remaining vegetables, and sprinkle with remaining cheese mixture.
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Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (depending on the depth of your pan) until the vegetables are tender (can be pierced easily with a knife). Remove from the oven and allow the gratin to rest for 10 minutes. If desired, turn on the broiler and place the gratin under the broiler to brown the top just before serving.
Recipe from Ad Hoc At Home by Thomas Keller.
Enjoy 🙂
“Get Grillin’ with Family Fresh Cooking and Cookin’ Canuck, sponsored by Ile de France Cheese, Rösle, Emile Henry, ManPans and Rouxbe.”
Amy Jurist
August 23 at 9:13 amwow that looks beautiful! and delish!
Priscilla
August 23 at 9:19 amThanks, Amy! It was and my husband and I ate the whole thing, so maybe I should change the serving size to 2 🙂
RavieNomNoms
August 23 at 10:44 amooooo what I fabulous summer treat!! I would eat that as a dinner just by itself! I cannot wait to try it!
CC Recipe
August 23 at 4:03 pmGreat presentation and looks like a wonderful way to serve squash!
.-= CC Recipe´s last blog ..Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells =-.
Anna
August 23 at 6:34 pmLovely dish, it looks beautiful, I just started to grow some pots of herbs and a tomato plant. Can’t wait to try them.
Monet
August 23 at 7:55 pmI love to see all the people that are growing and sharing their produce. What a wonderful way to end a movie date! I need to find myself some gardening friends (or just get to work on my own). This recipe looks like a wonderful way to use your bounty!
.-= Monet´s last blog ..Sugar and Spice-Cinnamon Raisin Bread =-.
Jean
August 24 at 9:20 pmWhat a beautiful gratin. Such a perfect light dish for the warm weather we’ve been having.
.-= Jean´s last blog ..Individual Apple Crisps =-.
bunkycooks
August 25 at 8:03 amI love all the fresh veggies in this. What a perfect dish for the warmer evenings.
.-= bunkycooks´s last blog ..Brandied Peach Ice Cream =-.
FOODESSA
August 25 at 8:04 amI do like to dabble in complex dishes once and a while…however a great veggie gratin like this one is a lot more my thing…especially during the week.
Thanks for sharing your tasty gratin with us ;o)
Flavourful wishes,
Claudia
.-= FOODESSA´s last blog ..2 Herbs roasted Nuts Tomato PESTO =-.
sharon
August 25 at 5:17 pmlooks wonderful! what amount of breadcrumbs ??? or is it to taste ?
Priscilla
August 26 at 9:31 amSharon – add 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs. Thanks for stopping by. Let me know how it turns out!
Cookin' Canuck
June 13 at 10:02 amWhat a pretty gratin! This would be a perfect side dish during the summer. Thanks so much for sharing it in our Get Grillin’ event.
Chris
June 13 at 10:42 amI love Ad Hoc At Home! What a wonderful way to utilize fresh veggies. This looks lovely.
anja
June 14 at 10:15 amthat looks like a healthy and savory side dish. i almost forgot to do a veggie gratin.
Jeanette
June 14 at 11:33 amWhat a beautiful healthy vegetable gratin – this would make a great meatless entree as well!