Zucchini-Tomato Gratin

Straight out of Vegetarian Times

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices(I used Roma)
• 2 medium zucchini(1 lb.), cut into 1/8-inch thick diagonal pieces
• 1 T plus 1tsp olive oil, divided(I used a lemon infused olive oil)
• 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
• 2 T roughly chopped kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup thinly slices basil leaves
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese(the fresher the better)
  

1. Take your tomatoes and zucchini, place the slices on large baking sheets and sprinkle with salt. Let stand 30-45 minutes to sweat out extra moisture. Rinse and pat dry.

2. Preheat oven to 375F. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil(this is where I went cowboy and pulled out the lemon infused olive oil because I thought the flavor would enhance the dish) in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the zucchini for 3-4 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a plate.

3. Layer 1/2 the zucchini slices in an 8in baking pan. Top with 1/2 of the tomatoes. Sprinkle with 1/2 the garlic, 1 T of olives, half the basil and 1/4 C of the Parmesan cheese. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Repeat with remaining zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, olives and basil. Drizzle top with 1 T of the olive oil(went with the lemon again) and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 C of cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil, and bake 20 minutes more or until cheese is melted and gratin bubbling. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

This is what it looked like when I pulled it out to take the foil off after 10 minutes:

While I was waiting for the vegetable to sweat, I realized that I had bought some white peaches at the grocery store(fully intended on eating them just as fruit and not combining them with alcohol) and that I also had some Bacardi Peach and a bottle of white wine. Hmmm...white peach sangria. So I mixed this up to sip on while I cooked...