Summer Vegetable Gratin Recipes

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the shallots, garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon thyme in a baking dish. Bake, stirring halfway through, until lightly caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool.
• Line 2 baking sheets with cooling racks. Divide the eggplant, yellow squash and zucchini between the 2 sheets. Season the vegetables with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Firmly press the vegetables with a kitchen towel to remove excess water. Lift the racks from the baking sheets and brush off any excess water and salt. Transfer the vegetables onto the sheet trays. Add the tomatoes to one of the sheet trays. Toss each type of vegetable with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon thyme and salt and pepper to taste.
• Make one stack of vegetables on a baking sheet. Start with 1 tomato slice, top it with 1 to 2 slices of zucchini, depending on the size, 1 to 2 slices of yellow squash, and then top with 1 slice of eggplant. (The zucchini and yellow squash slices should fill the same amount of space as the tomato and eggplant; if they are smaller slices, use two.) Place the stack on its side in the baking dish, on top of the caramelized shallots. Repeat making stacks and adding them into the baking dish in a spiral, working from the outside inward. If there are extra vegetables, add them to the center of the dish at the end. Sprinkle with the fontina and Parmesan. Bake until the vegetables are tender and the cheese is melted and golden brown, 35 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes.
• Garnish with the basil and serve with crusty bread.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 7 by 11-inch baking dish with olive oil.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add onions, garlic and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until completely softened and cooked but not browned. Stir in the basil and thyme. Spread on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
• Toss the sliced vegetables with the remaining olive oil and salt, and pepper. With the long side of the baking dish facing you, alternate the sliced vegetables in compact upright rows on top of the onion mixture.
• Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake until the vegetables are softened, about 30 to 35 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Continue baking until cheese begins to brown, about 20 minutes or so. Serve hot or at room temperature.
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Steps:

• In a large saute pan set over medium heat, add enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot, add the onions and saute until translucent, but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Add the tomatoes and cook until they start to give off their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and season with salt and pepper. Add the sugar and cook until there is almost no liquid left, about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Lay the eggplant and zucchini out on a flat surface and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.
• In another large saute pan set over medium high heat, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil just starts to smoke, add the eggplant in 1 layer and cook just until golden brown on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. You might need to do this in batches. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Blot the top with additional paper towels.
• In the same pan, add more olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil just starts to smoke, add the zucchini in 1 layer and saute until just browned on each side, about 1 minute per side. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
• In a shallow roasting pan or baking dish, spread half of the tomato sauce evenly over the bottom. Begin layering the eggplant and zucchini along the outside of the baking dish so they are overlapping slightly. Continue until the pan is full and the eggplant and zucchini is used. Cover the top with the remaining tomato sauce, spreading evenly. Sprinkle the mozzarella and Parmesan evenly over the top, covering completely.
• Place the baking dish inside a large baking dish. Pour hot water into the larger baking dish about half way up the sides to make a water bath. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Make the base layer: In a large, heavy ovenproof skillet or enameled cast-iron pan (10 to 12 inches across), combine onions and olive oil and heat to a sizzle, stirring to separate. Add bell peppers, red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook, stirring, over low heat until peppers are very soft and onions are browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and remove garlic, leaving remaining mixture in the pan.
• Meanwhile, make the topping (if using): Core tomatoes and slice them 1/4 inch thick. Lay on paper towels to drain for 10 minutes. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add tomatoes and cook very slowly, turning once or twice, until liquid has bubbled away and flesh is cooked through, about 8 minutes. (Do not overcook, or tomatoes will fall apart.) Turn off heat and let slices cool in skillet; they will continue to dry out. Tear baguette into pieces and pulse in a food processor to make coarse, fluffy, pea-size crumbs. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil and the cheese and pulse to combine.
• Assemble the gratin: Heat oven to 425 degrees. (If your oven has a convection feature, use it, reducing baking temperature to 400 degrees.) In a large bowl, combine oil, zucchini and squash, and toss well until lightly and evenly coated. Add basil, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, and toss again.
• On top of the base layer in pan, arrange squash and zucchini slices around the inner rim of the pan, standing on their edges in roughly alternating colors. Pat down into the pan so slices overlap and lie down, like shingles or fallen dominoes. Repeat to make another circle inside the first, and again if necessary, until pan is filled. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Brush oil over the top of the gratin and transfer to oven. Bake 30 minutes. Raise oven temperature to 450 degrees (425 degrees for convection), or heat the broiler.
• If not using topping, brush surface again with oil. If using topping, arrange tomato slices in one layer on top of the par-baked gratin. Spread bread-cheese mixture over tomatoes and press down gently.
• Bake or broil until vegetables are browned around the edges or crust is crisp and golden. Let cool slightly and serve hot or at warm room temperature. Garnish each serving with herbs.

Steps:

• Coat a shallow 2 quart baking dish with non stick cooking spray; set aside.
• Rinse,trim and slice leeks; pat dry with paper towel.
• In a medium bowl, combine leeks, zucchini, yellow squash and 1 tablespoon of the oil.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Transfer vegetables to prepared baking dish.
• In a small bowl, stir together bread crumbs, cheese, thyme, garlic and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over vegetables.
• Bake at 425°F for 20-25 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Brush a 9-inch Pyrex pie plate or gratin dish with oil. Trim stem ends of leeks; cut into 1/4-inch-thick diagonal rounds. Place in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes to rid them of dirt and sand. Pat dry. In a medium bowl, gently toss leeks, zucchini, squash, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Arrange vegetable slices in bottom of pie plate, slightly overlapping them.
• In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, garlic, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the remaining 1 tablespoon oil until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over vegetables, and bake until the bread crumbs are golden brown and vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degree. Brush 13- by 9-inch baking dish with 1 teaspoon oil; set aside.
• Toss zucchini and squash slices with 1 teaspon salt in large bowl; transfer to colander set over bowl. Let stand until zuccchini and squash release at least 3 tablespoons of liquid, about 45 minutes. Arrange slices on triple layer paper towels; cover with another triple layer paper towels and firmly press each slice to remove as much liquid as possible.
• Meanwhile, place tomato slices in single layer on double layer paper towels and sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand 30 minutes. Place second doube layer paper towels on top of tomatoes and press firmly to dry.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon oil in 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and dark golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside.
• Combine garlic, 2 teaspoons oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper and thyme in small bowl. In large bowl, toss zucchini and squash in half of oil mixture, then arrange in greased baking dish. Arrange caramelized onions in even layer over squash. Slightly overlap tomato slices in single layer on top of onions, Spoon remaining garlic-oil mixture evenly over tomatoes. Bake until vegetables are tender and tomatoes are starting to brown on edges, 40-45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, process bread in food processor or belender until finely ground (about 10 seconds). You should have about 1 cup crumbs. Combine bread crumbs, remaining teaspoon oil, parmesan and shallots in medium bowl. Remove baking dish from oven and increase heat to 450 degrees. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture evenly on top of tomatoes. Bake until bubbling and cheese is lightly browned, 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and let sit at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.