236: Provencal Summer Vegetables

Another recipe that I made to feature my zucchini and tomatoes was Provencal Summer Vegetables. Alex doesn't like eggplant, so I used extra zucchini in its place. You layer slices of zucchini and tomato (and eggplant, if using) over a layer of caramelized leeks with white wine. There's supposed to be a lot of overlap, which I didn't really realize because I didn't consult the picture enough. I was using a giant zucchini, so I sliced some of it in long strips (which I should have cut in half). You bake this for 75 minutes, add Parmesan cheese (I sprinkled the Kraft grated stuff over half, for Alex) and fresh or dried marjoram, and bake 15 minutes longer.

We had this with steak.

I really enjoyed this. I love roasted tomatoes, and the roasted zucchini was pretty good, too; roasting the vegetables so they lost some of their moisture intensified their flavor. Vegetables cooked in white wine is also something that I love having. If using dried marjoram, like I was, I suggest sprinkling it over the leeks during the layering process so that the flavor comes out - otherwise, you should just leave it out because it didn't enhance the dish when added toward the end. I also don't know if using the grated Parmesan was good or not; it didn't look particularly appealing on Alex's half of the vegetables, in my opinion, but I think Alex liked it? I'm not sure if layering the vegetables was very important, because that's a step that took a little time (aside from baking it, which is pretty hands-off).

This recipe took a while since it had a long baking time, but I thought it was delicious. I enjoyed the leftovers as well, even on their own. I recommend it. If you don't want to take the time to layer the recipe and caramelize leeks or onions, I suggest you try baking a combination of the vegetables with a little white wine and olive oil - that might be what I try in the future.