Roasted Chicken with Summer Vegetable Gratin

Summer Vegetable Gratin
(adapted from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home)

2 Roma (plum) tomatoes
1 medium zucchini
1 Japanese eggplant
Canola oil
2.5 cups chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, grated or minced
1 T plus 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 Tbsp. EVOO (approximately)
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/3 cup dried bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice vegetables with a mandoline as close in size as possible and toss with olive oil and a lite sprinkling of sea salt.

Heat some canola oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, reduce to low, add onions and garlic and season with salt. Cook without browning stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 20 minutes. Stir in 1 tbs of the thyme.

Combine parmesan and bread crumbs and remaining thyme in a small bowl.

Spread onion mixture in the bottom of a 13.5x9.5 gratin dish or 13 inch round shallow baking dish. Arrange a layer of overlapping slices of 1/3 of the squash around the outside edge of the dish. Sprinkle 2-3 tbs of the breadcrumb mixture over the top. Add a row of tomatoes, eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini until you the pan is filled adding a layer of breadcrumbs ontop of each layer. Sprinkle the top with any of the remaining breadcrumb/cheese mixture and a light sprinkling of salt.

Bake for 60-90 minutes until the vegetables are completely tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.