zucchinni recipe for your summer abundance
All right, bagged out of work early, just couldn't hack it today...
Alice waters is my heroine, her restaurant, chez panisse, is possibly the best american restaurant (west of the mississippi) to date. She and her foundation, have brought the notion of community gardening, organic gardening and food awareness to elementary aged kids in the East Bay and beyond.
zucchini and tomato gratin
from alice water's chez panisse vegetables, harper collins, 1996
Note: since this is alice, there was no temperature indicated, so i assumed 375.
This is really good, but you gotta be careful about the amount of oil you use.
1 yellow onion
olive oil (you don't have to use it, but you should)
salt and pepper
1 small bunch thyme (I used dried dean and deluca thyme)
1 bunch fresh basil (1/4 to 1/2 lb) - whoa alice, that is alot
6 to 8 medium slicing tomatoes
10 small zukes (green or yellow)
balsamic vinegar
peel and slice thin the onion and saute in olive oil until soft and transulcent. season with salt and pepper; add leaves of thymeand basil stripped of their stems and chopped. Cut out the stem ends of the tomatoes and cut into 1/4" thick slices. Trim zukes and cut them into 1/4" slices on the diagonal.
Spread the onion and herbs on the bottom of a 9x12 gratin dish or glass baking dish. Make a row of partially overlapping tomato slices, season with salt and pepper and if the tomatoes are not very sweet, with a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar. Overlap the first row of tomato slices with zucchini slices, season again and drizzle w/olive oil. Continue making alternative rows of zukes and toms until they are used up.
Press down vegetables slightly, drizzle a little more oil (or not) and bake, uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes at 375 F, until the vegetables are fully cooked and the gratin has started to brown. If the top appears to be drying out while it bakes, tip the dish slightly and with a spoon collect some of the pan juices and use then to moisten the top.
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