Summer Vegetable Gratin

This may be one of the best things I have ever made. Just the aroma of the garlic and herbs is kind of making me dizzy (in a good way). If you are plant based, just leave out the cheese. Feel free to use toasted bread instead of the croutons (or leave the grain out completely!)—I just used croutons because they add some heft to the dish, soak up any vegetable and herb juices, and are ready to go. PS-If you have bits of leftover sliced veggies, save them for a salad or soup.

Ingredients (serves 8 as a side dish-maybe 4-6 as a main):

½ cup olive oil

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 teaspoons dried bouquet garni (just a mix of parsley, thyme, oregano, basil, marjoram, sage and tarragon or whatever herbs you have on hand)

½ teaspoon salt (more or less-to taste)

Lots of freshly cracked black pepper

Cooking spray

1 teaspoon olive oil

½ of a large white onion, thinly sliced

1 (5 ounce) packaged croutons (I used herb, but any flavor you like will do), slightly crushed in the bag and divided.

1 large zucchini, thinly sliced

4 Roma (plum) tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 yellow squash, thinly sliced

1 jar (12 ounces) roasted red peppers packed in water, thinly sliced

1/3 cup grated parmesan, grana Padano, or other hard cheese

Directions:

Combine the ½ cup of olive oil, crushed garlic, bouquet garni, salt and pepper in a cup. Stir and let sit at room temperature for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9 inch, deep pie dish or other baking dish with cooking spray. Place half of the bag of crushed croutons in the bottom of the dish. This will help soak up any vegetable juices.

Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and add the 1 teaspoon olive oil and the onions. Cook on medium low for about 20 minutes until the onions are soft and lightly brown. Place the onions on top of the croutons in your baking dish.

Arrange your sliced zucchini, tomatoes, yellow squash and roasted red peppers in the baking dish as you like, brushing every layer or so with your garlic/olive oil mixture, reserving 1 Tablespoon. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

While the gratin is baking, make the topping by combining the remaining croutons with the parmesan cheese and 1 Tablespoon of leftover garlic/olive oil mixture.

Remove the gratin from the oven, sprinkle the crouton and cheese mixture over and return to the oven to bake, uncovered for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.