Eat your lasagna and have your greens, too, with a veggie-enhanced rendition of a family favorite. This layered gratin resembles a lasagna, with one key distinction: There aren’t any pasta sheets. It’s a glimpse of summer time season to return again, with planks of roasted Mediterranean greens rippling with tomato and dollops of ricotta in a gratin-cum-lasagna.
Roasted eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash slices protect this dish delicate and vibrant, alternating with a vivid tomato sauce and fluffy ricotta. All the parts could possibly be prepped upfront, ready for last-minute assembly if you find yourself capable of bake. Pre-roast the greens; by doing so, the oil is saved to a minimal. The tomato sauce is simple to make, nonetheless a favorite store-bought tomato sauce can merely be substituted. And ensure to make use of whole-milk ricotta cheese for among the finest style and outcomes, as a result of the skim choice could possibly be grainy and tasteless.
Roasted Vegetable Gratin
Energetic time: half-hour
Full time: 2 hours
Serves 4 to 6
For the Tomato Sauce
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed purple pepper flakes
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to model
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly flooring black pepper
For the Gratin
- 16 ounces whole-milk ricotta
- 1/4 cup (packed) finely grated pecorino Romano cheese, plus about 1 cup additional for sprinkling
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Kosher salt
- Freshly flooring black pepper
- 2 medium eggplants, sliced lengthwise, 1/4-inch thick
- 3 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise, 1/4-inch thick
- 3 yellow squash, sliced lengthwise, 1/4-inch thick
- Olive oil for brushing
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and sauté until comfy with out coloring, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, and purple pepper flakes and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir inside the tomatoes, salt, and black pepper. Partially cowl and simmer for 20 minutes. (Cool and refrigerate the sauce until use if getting ready upfront.)
Whisk the ricotta, 1/4 cup pecorino, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a bowl until straightforward. (Refrigerate until use if getting ready upfront.)
Heat the oven to 425 ranges F.
Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment. Arrange the zucchini and squash on a separate baking sheet lined with parchment. Evenly brush the greens with oil and season with salt and black pepper. Roast the greens inside the oven, in batches if important, until tender and golden in spots, 15 to twenty minutes for the zucchini and squash and 25 to half-hour for the eggplant. Take away the greens from the oven and cut back the oven heat to 375 ranges F.
To assemble the gratin, unfold a thin layer of tomato sauce over the underside of a 2.5-quart gratin or 9-inch-square baking dish. Arrange a layer of eggplant slices over the sauce. Smear dabs of the ricotta over the eggplant, then drizzle with a number of of the sauce and sprinkle with pecorino cheese. Repeat the layering course of, alternating the zucchini and squash with the eggplant, until the entire greens are added. Drizzle any remaining sauce over the gratin and throughout the sides. Finish with dabs of the remaining ricotta and an additional sprinkle of pecorino.
Change to the oven and bake until bubbly and golden brown on excessive, about 35 minutes. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes sooner than serving.