Adapted from SmittenKitchen.com, courtesy of Capay Valley Farm Shop
INGREDIENTS
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 cup tomato puree
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), divided 1 small eggplant
2 medium-sized summer squash, sliced
1 sweet pepper
Few sprigs fresh thyme (if available)
Salt and pepper
Few tablespoons soft goat cheese, for serving
PREPARATION
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Pour tomato puree into bottom of an oval baking dish, approximately 10 in long.
- Stir in garlic cloves, onion, olive oil and salt and pepper.
- Trim the ends off the eggplant and summer squash.
- Trim and core pepper, leaving the edges intact, like a tube.
- Using mandolin or sharp knife, cut the eggplant, squashes and pepper into very thin slices, approximately 1/16-inch thick.
- Atop the tomato sauce, arrange slices of prepared vegetables concentrically from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a smidgen of each flat surface is visible, alternating vegetables.
- Drizzle the remaining tablespoon olive oil over the vegetables and season them generously with salt and pepper.
- Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs with your fingertips, running them down the stem.
- Sprinkle the fresh thyme over the dish.
- Cover dish with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside, or foil if parchment is not available.
- Bake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, until vegetables have released their liquid and are clearly cooked, but not completely limp.
- Remove before veggies brown.
- Serve with goat cheese, alongside bread, atop polenta, or your favorite grain.
Visit the blog at SmittenKitchen.com to read the full recipe and see their beautiful photos!