Eggplant and Zucchini Gratin – by Julia Child

This weekend presents the perfect opportunity to indulge in one of my favourite dishes, after watching Ratatouille, for the 100^th time last night. Besides it’s fabulous colour and ridiculously low cost, aubergine, a.k.a. eggplant dishes are usually heartier than other vegetable based recipes. It’s a common substitute for meat dishes and adds some bulk to this gratin especially, but also makes a fantastic side dish for those who are Banting. Just replace the breadcrumbs with crumbed cauliflower. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup or so olive oil
• 1 large or 2 medium eggplants
• 1 tablespoon herbs de Provence
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium zucchini (baby marrows)
• 3 or 4 ripe large tomatoes
• 1 ½ cups onions
• 2 green peppers
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 3 tbsp minced parsley

For bread-crumb topping:

• 1/2 cup or so fresh bread crumbs, not too finely ground
• 1/3 cup or so freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For herbs de Provence, substitute the following mixture:

• 2 tsp each dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary and
• 1/4 tsp mint
• 1/8 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/8 tsp dried sage

METHOD

Peel and cut the eggplant. Make sure you cut eggplant into lengthwise slices that are about 1-inch wide, 3-inch long, and 3/8-inch thick. Scrub the baby marrows and cut into pieces the same size as the eggplant. Take a bowl and put the vegetables into it. Toss the vegetables with one teaspoon salt. Set them aside for 30 minutes. Drain every slice and dry with a towel.

Take a pan and put four tablespoons of olive oil into it. Sauté the baby marrows and eggplant, one layer at a time, for about one minute until they vegetables are slightly browned. Take them out and place into a dish.

Cook pepper and onions in the same pan. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil if needed. Cook the vegetables for 10 minutes until they are tender. Add the garlic and season the mixture with salt and pepper.

Take the tomatoes and slice them into 3/8-inch strips. Layer the tomatoes over the pepper and onions, and season them with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and let the vegetables cook for about 5 minutes on a low heat until the tomatoes start to render their juice. Check the seasoning and raise the heat. 

Boil the vegetables in the tomato juice until the juice evaporates entirely.

Take a casserole, about 2½-inch deep, and put 1/3 of the tomato mixture into it. Sprinkle the freshly minced parsley over the tomatoes. Next, arrange half of the baby marrows and eggplant on top. Layer the remaining tomatoes and parsley. Put the remaining bay marrows and eggplant on top, and finish off with the rest of the tomatoes and parsley.

Cover the casserole and put it on a low heat. Let everything simmer for about 10 minutes. Check it after 10 minutes, and season it if necessary. Raise the heat a little and cook everything for 15 minutes uncovered. Cook until all the juices evaporate. Be very careful about the heat. Avoid the vegetables getting scorch at the bottom of the casserole.

Take it out, and serve!

The majority of this recipe above is written directly from her site (http://juliachildsrecipes.com/dinner/julia-childs-ratatouille/), which I find grammatically refreshing. I have changed it here and there.