Have you ever tasted a mind-blowingly amazing dish and spent weeks/ months/ years with it on your mind?
I have been dreaming about a vegetable gratin I have a few times at Greens Restaurant in San Francisco. I'm not a vegetarian, but Greens is by far one of my favorite restaurants. Trust me. Their veggie gratin is so good.
When I was thinking about the recipes I wanted to try to make this month, that incredible veggie gratin kept popping into my head.
I'm no Annie Sommerville (the Chef at Greens-love her), so instead of trying to actually replicate the dish (impossible), I tried to make something similar from the ingredients I had in the fridge.
This is how it turned out > a delicious, everyday kind of meal. I have to confess that the tomato vinaigrette I concocted on the fly was awesome, but I need a bit more practice making polenta.
+ 2 red or yellow bell peppers
+ 1.5 dozen cloves of garlic
+ 1 cup of sliced mushrooms
+ 1 medium diced onion
+ 1 medium japanese eggplant
+ 4 small sliced carrots
+ 1 cup of shredded fontina
+ 1 cup of shredded mozarella
+ 1/2 cup shredded parmesano
+ lots of olive oil :)
+ 1/2 dozen medium tomatoes
+ 1 cup of polenta
+ 1 cup of milk
+ 2 cups of water
+ 2 Tablespoons of butter
+ 1/2 cup of red wine
+ 1/2 cup of white wine vinegar
Polenta:
+ Bring 2 cups of water and 1 cup of butter to boil. Whisk in polenta, add butter and salt/pepper, and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.
+ Remove from heat and place into the bottom of a buttered/or olive oiled baking dish. Allow to cool.
Veggies:
+ Sauté bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, carrots, & garlic in olive oil. I sautéed each of them separately, but you can mix them as you like (says me).
+ Sauté eggplant in garlic in a large sauce pan.
+ Layer all of the vegetables on top of the polenta.
+ Top the veggies with the asiago, mozarella, and finally the parmesano.
+ Bake at 350 degrees for 20ish minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Tomato Vinaigrette:
+ Sauté tomatoes in a large sauce pan until nice and soft.
+ Blend in food processor or blendor and return to sauce pan. Whisk in red wine, vinegar, and 1/2 cup of olive oil. Add in salt and pepper to taste.
> Serve Gratin topped with the vinaigrette!
If I made this again, I think I'd include some more green things like spinach & zuchinni.
This recipe is definitely a great summer dinner. I love the combination of fresh veggies, polenta, cheesy goodness, & a refreshing tomato vinaigrette.
Hope you love it too! It may look messy (because it is), but the deliciousness makes up for it!
