The elusive french classic... if you're anything like me, you've heard of it but never attempted to make it. It's extremely simple, and a delicious way to prepare vegetables. Impress your guests or family, they'll think you are a cooking genius.
Another bonus of this dish is that it makes excellent leftovers - I used the sausage and vegetables as a filling for a breakfast omelet. It was amazing!
Ok, here we go with the ingredients:
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup tomato puree
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1/2 tsp. Thyme
1/2 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Basil
1 small long Japanese eggplant (regular eggplant also works but will need to be cut into similar size slices.)
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
3 red mini peppers (or one longish red sweet pepper)
Salt and Pepper
4-6 Links of Uncooked Italian Sausage
Preheat oven to 375.
Saute onions and garlic in olive oil over low-medium heat until soft. Add spices and tomato puree. Let simmer for 5-6 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Season with salt & pepper.
While sauce is simmering, use a mandolin blade slicer to thinly slice your vegetables. Approximately 1/16th of an inch thick is best.
An oval baking dish is best for presentation, but a 9x13 rectangle dish will is fine too. Pour your tomato sauce into the bottom of your baking dish and spread to cover the entire bottom. Arrange slices of vegetables, overlapping in an alternating fashion - as shown in the photo above. Add uncooked sausage links to the pattern as shown above or to your own liking.
Cover dish with foil and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45- 50 minutes.
