The vibrant autumn shades of these vegetables and the way they are layered make for a beautiful eye catching dish on your holiday table. My mom got me hooked on gratins. She loves assembling and making them every time we have company over or extra produce in the fridge. She loves to make hers with extra tomatoes and onions. I substitute the tomatoes sauce for a tahini one in the winter months. I love how the earthy flavors of tahini play so well against the natural sweetness of the root Vegetables. The best thing about this dish it can be assembled in advance, eaten at room temperature making it the perfect side dish for your holiday table.
The natural sweetness of the root vegetables like zucchini, sweet potatoes, squash work perfectly with the earthy tahini sauce. Making these roasted vegetables gratin the best side dish ever. and it will cover all your vegatble sides how's thats for an idea..
Tahini Vegetable Ratatoile
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45-50 minutes
Serving: 6 as a side dish
Ingredients
2 medium zucchini squash (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter)
2 medium yellow zucchini (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter)
1 sweet potato
1 purple chinese eggplant
3 to 4 plum or Roma tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small purple onion, thinly sliced
Few sprigs of fresh thyme
2 tbls olive oil
Tahini sauce:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup tahini
1.5 - 2 cups of water
Juice of two lemons
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp Aleppo pepper
Directions:
Heat to 375°F. Lightly coat an 8x8-inch baking dish with olive oil; set aside.
Use a mandolin or a very sharp knife to cut the zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes, onions, eggplants, sweet potatoes crosswise into 1/8 inch rounds. Place in a large bowl, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and black pepper Toss to combine; set aside.
Brush your baking dish with a bit of olive oil
Place the zucchini, squash, eggplant, sweet potato, onions, and tomato slices, arranging them on their sides and alternating the slices as you go. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake for 30 minutes.
In the meantime make your tahini sauce: just mix everything together we are looking for a thin dressing as tahini thickens when it cooks in the oven.
Uncover your veggies, add the tahini sauce and bake until the vegetables are tender and the edges and topping are browned, 15 to 20 more minutes.
Few things to keep in mind to make sure you have a delicious beautiful gratin every single time:
The main thing to keep in mind when selecting your vegetables is to try to pick them similar in shape and in size especially width/diameters. This will help in your presentation.
A mandolin is the best tool to use for making sure your vegetable slices are the same size so they cook evenly.
Make sure you use a baking dish that will fit all your veggies as they have to be arranged sung together.
Cooking times might vary depending how thick or thin you slice your vegetables. So make sure you check them for doneness. Just Insert a knife or a fork through your Vegetables to test for doneness if there is no resistance they are ready.
Variations:
Try playing around with different vegetables, beets, butternut squash, and also regular potatoes would be so good here
You can also make a marinara sauce instead of tahini
Change your herbs and add garlic instead of onions
Recipe Notes:
Make ahead: The gratin and the tahini sauce can be assembled 1 day in advance and refrigerated.
Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Serve: as a main dish with some bread to scoop up the juices or with a roast, fish or chicken.