French cuisine
Ingredients:
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
- 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced.
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped.
- Pinch crushed red pepper flake.
- 1 medium-large zucchini.
- 1 medium-large yellow zucchini.
- 1 orange heirloom tomato.
- 4 medium vine tomatoes.
- 1 small Japanese eggplant.
- 1 tbsp tomato paste.
- ½ tsp kosher salt.
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper.
- ¾ cup Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese.
- Fresh basil, julienned for garnish.
Directions:
- Be sure to purchase squash, eggplant and tomatoes that are roughly the same size in diameter.
- Preheat your oven to 400°.
- In a medium skillet, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat.
- Add in the onions and let cook for a minute until they just begin to soften.
- Add in half of the chopped garlic, the crushed red pepper flake, and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally, while prepare the vegetables.
- Lower the heat if you notice the onions are browning too quickly.
- While the onions cook, slice the ends off the squash and eggplant, as well as the stems off of the tomatoes.
- Slice each vegetable so that it is about ¼″ thick. The most important thing is that you make your cuts consistent, so the vegetables will all cook evenly.
- Once the vegetables are prepped, add in the tomato paste to the pan with the onions.
- Stir to distribute and “melt,” until the paste has coated the onions and the mixture is fragrant.
- Transfer the onion mixture to the bottom of the baking dish, and drizzle with a tablespoon or so of olive oil.
- Arranging the sliced vegetables in the dish, alternating by color.
- Sprinkle the rest of the garlic over the top of the arranged vegetables, then season the whole thing with salt and pepper, and drizzle with a bit more olive oil.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes to an hour, or until the mixture is very bubbly and the vegetables look tender.
- Remove the dish from the oven, and turn the broiler on to high.
- Layer shaved or sliced cheese on top of the cooked vegetables, then bake underneath the broiler until the cheese gets bubbly and brown.
- Let the dish sit for a couple minutes, garnish with freshly chopped basil, and serve.
- This is delicious with grilled steaks, roasted chicken, and with pasta or cous cous.