Recipe: Bayaldi (Eggplant, zucchini and tomato)

Total time: About 1 hour and 10 minutes

Servings: 6

Note: Adapted from “Bocuse in your Kitchen” by Paul Bocuse. Instead of making layers as described below, you can simply make parallel lines of overlapping vegetables, as shown in the photo; you can bake them in individual baking dishes rather than one large one.

4 medium zucchini, weighing about 1 1/2 pounds

2 small eggplants or 1 large one, weighing about 1 1/4 pounds

1 1/4 pounds tomatoes

1 large onion

Butter for the baking dish

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped fine

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

1/2 bay leaf, crushed

Salt, pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash the zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes and wipe them dry. Cut them and the onions into slices about three-eighths-inch thick (if using a large eggplant rather than two smaller ones, cut it in half lengthwise before slicing). Keep all the vegetables separate from one another.

2. Butter a large baking dish (preferably earthenware or enameled cast iron). Cover the bottom of the dish with the onions. Then make a layer of zucchini and sprinkle with a little garlic, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Next, layer the eggplant, then the tomato. Season each layer as you did the zucchini.

3. Pour the oil over the surface of the vegetables and bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. (If the vegetables dry out during the first 30 minutes of baking, cover them with foil; remove the foil during the last 10 minutes of baking.)

Each serving: 161 calories; 3 grams protein; 13 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams fiber; 12 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 14 mg. sodium.