Summer Vegetable Healthy Gratin:

Dear Kara,

Last night Michael and I discovered the best Summer Vegetable Gratin! Gratin's (potato, fennel, squash, etc...) can be north of 500 calories per serving! This recipe cuts in more than half coming in at 187 calories per serving. Plus by incorporating squash and eggplant the dish is high in fiber, minerals, vitamin C, A, calcium and iron. We had this as our main meal and were completely full. This dish would be a great substitute for when craving pasta. I had some of the leftovers today for lunch and they were even better the next day.

The recipe is right out of Thomas Keller's amazing cookbook, Ad Hoc At Home. This recipe is ridiculously easy, so there isn't any stress or "time sucking" involved.

Ingredients:
-3 Roma (plum) tomatoes 1 1/2-2" in diameter
-1 Medium yellow squash
-1 Medium zucchini
-1 Japanese eggplant (If not available at your store a small/narrow eggplant will do)
-Canola oil
-2 1/2 Cups of coarsely chopped onions
-2 Garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
-1 Tbsp plus 1 tspn chopped thyme
-1/4 Cup virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
-1/2 Cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
-1/2 Cup dried breadcrumbs (If carb conscious Livestrong recommends crumbled pork rinds)
-Pink Himalayan rock salt (or Kosher Salt)
-Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and set a cooling rack on a baking sheet.
-Slice vegetables to end up with slices as close in size as possible. Cut tomatoes, zucchini, squash, and eggplant to be 1/4" inch thick. If needed cut on a slight diagonal.
-Heat some canola oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the onions and garlic, and season with salt. Cook without browning, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 20 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of thyme.
-Combine the yellow squash, zucchini, and eggplant in a large bowl, toss with the olive oil, and season with salt.
-Drizzle the slices of tomato with olive oil and season with salt.
-Combine the  Parmesan, bread crumbs, and remaining 1 teaspoon of thyme in a small bowl.
-Spread the onion mixture in the bottom of a 13 1/2 by 9 1/2 inch gratin dish or 13-inch round shallow baking dish. Layer the vegetables in the dish, working on the diagonal. Arrange a layer of overlapping slices of one-third of the zucchini around the outside edge of the dish. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the cheese mixture over the top. Make a row of overlapping slices of yellow squash slightly overlapping the zucchini and sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the cheese mixture over the top. Make a third row with overlapping slices of tomatoes, slightly overlapping the zucchini, and sprinkle with the cheese mixture. Make a fourth row with overlapping slices of eggplant, slightly overlapping the tomatoes, and sprinkle the cheese mixture over the top. Continue making overlapping rows of the remaining vegetables, and sprinkle the top with any remaining cheese mixture and a light sprinkling of salt.
-Bake for 1-1 1/2 hours until the vegetables are completely tender and offer no resistance when pierced with a knife. Remove from the oven and allow the gratin to rest for 10 minutes. Turn on the broiler.
-Just before serving, place the grating under the broiler to brown the top.