BoomerGirl Diary

Summer is winding down and I'm feeling a bit melancholy. I certainly won't miss the relentless August heat and humidity, the chiggers and mosquitoes, or the late summer pollens that envelop our city and make me sneeze. What I will miss is plucking ripe tomatoes off the vine, digging heads of garlic, snipping fresh herbs to garnish a summer dish, and shopping at the farmers' market for small, firm eggplants and other just-picked vegetables.

In a few weeks, the tomatoes that I will find in the supermarket will taste like cardboard, the garlic will be dry and sprouting, and the eggplants will be too large and too soft. What does all of this tell us? Act now! Head for the garden, the farmers' market or the nearest green grocer and purchase what is fresh and local before summer is a distant memory.

My favorite dish this time of year, for which you must use fresh vegetables, is ratatouille. It is the quintessential high-summer vegetable dish and I feel an urgency to taste it one more time before the summer ends. I like all versions whether it is the labor-intensive French Provencal method which requires making fresh tomato sauce before roasting the whole concoction for a long while, or a quick-grilled ratatouille made by grilling the vegetables and tossing them with a garlicky vinaigrette.

The recipe I'm sharing here is somewhere in between, and well worth the effort. And while you are savoring each bite, bid adieu to summer and say hello to the warm and hearty dishes of fall.

Oven-Roasted Ratatouille

1 pound (3 to 4) small, firm eggplants, rinsed and stemmed

sea salt

1/2 to 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

sea salt & black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped

1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

1 ½ pounds (3 to 4) medium tomatoes

Slice the eggplants into ½-inch rounds and salt both sides. Place the rounds on paper towels and let drain for 30 minutes, then pat dry with paper towels.

While the eggplant is draining, heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly browned. Add the garlic, reduce the heat to low and cook for I minute more. Transfer the onion and garlic mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Brown the eggplant rounds (in batches) on both sides, adding more oil as needed. Lightly oil an 8x10-inch baking dish and arrange the eggplant in the dish, overlapping slightly if necessary. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Spread the cooked onion and garlic evenly over the eggplant. Combine the chopped basil, rosemary and thyme and sprinkle the mixture over the onions. Sprinkle with about 6 tablespoons of the grated cheese, reserving the remaining 2 tablespoons. Core the tomatoes and cut each into 4 or 5 wedges. Place them cut side down on top of the cheese, completely covering the casserole. Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and pepper, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of cheese.

Bake the ratatouille uncovered in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes, or until the eggplant is tender and caramelized around the edges and the tops of the tomatoes are browned. Serve hot, warm or chilled. Serves 6.