Name: Eggplant Gratin (Gratin d’Aubergines)
Yield: Servings: 4
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 clove garlic, finely chopped; 1 pound tomatoes, peeled, seeded, cut into pieces; Salt, small pinch cayenne; Handful fresh basil leaves and flowers; Salt, pepper; Pepper; About ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan; ½ teaspoon sugar; 1 egg; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 4 ounces ricotta or other fresh white cheese; About ½ cup heavy cream; 1½ pounds eggplant (preferably small, elongated variety) sliced lengthwise into ½-inch slices (or, if large, sliced crosswise); Olive oil for frying; 1 medium onion, finely chopped

Preparation info

Servings:
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Simple French Food

By Richard Olney

Published 1974

About

Most Provençal gratins of eggplant consist simply of alternate layers of precooked eggplant slices and stewed tomato, the surface sprinkled with cheese, or, in some instances, there is only an intermediate layer of stewed tomato with béchamel poured over the surface and sprinkled with cheese. This recipe seems to me very much more interesting, both from the point of view of presentation and of flavor. Often the eggplant is parboiled rather than being precooked in olive oil, but the l