Recipe: Cheesy Zucchini Eggplant Bake

We’ve had a weird turn of weather lately. Ordinarily, August is one of our hotter months, with 90-100° days and whispers about wildfires and drought. But it’s been storming a lot lately in Colorado, bringing cooler temperatures to the high desert, as well as soggy commutes and hail damage. Any time temperatures drop like this, my body starts craving cold weather foods. I’ll drag the slow cooker out of the cabinet for hearty soups, stews, and chilis, or break out the cast irons or ceramic casserole dishes for oven-baked goodies.
 
This recipe is one of my all-time faves for the weather, making use of some delicious fall and winter squashes. It even has the comfort-food factor of a lasagna, but without the added calories of noodles (tasty though they are.) Time to pop one of these babies in the oven and curl up with some hot tea and a good book.
 

 Photo and recipe modified from Bon Appetit.
 
Cheesy Zucchini-Eggplant Bake

Ingredients:

• 1 large globe eggplant
• 2 large zucchini and/or summer squash
• 24 ounces cherry and/or grape tomatoes
• 8 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, plus more
• Kosher salt
• 8 ounces fresh ricotta (about 1 cup)
• ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 8 ounces salted low-moisture mozzarella, grated, divided
• 1 cup basil leaves, divided

 
The Nitty Gritty
 

1. Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 450°.
2. Cut off stem end of eggplant and cut it cross-wise into ½-inch thick slices.
3. Repeat same process with zucchini and/or summer squash, trimming stem end, and slicing cross-wise ½-inch thick.
4. Arrange eggplant slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, then fit as many pieces of zucchini as possible on same baking sheet, tucking into spaces around eggplant.
5. Place remaining zucchini slices on one half of another rimmed baking sheet, arranging as close together as possible and in a single layer.
6. On the empty side of your baking sheet, arrange tomatoes and garlic.
7. Drizzle 1 tbsp. oil over tomatoes and garlic and toss with your hands to coat.
8. Using your hands, smear 2 tbsp. oil over exposed sides of eggplant and zucchini slices. Eggplant in particular acts like a sponge and will soak up oil in an instant. Since all you want is a thin, even coating, it’s better to smear them with oil rather than to drizzle.
9. Turn eggplant and squash slices over and smear other side with 2 tbsp. oil. Season all vegetables on both baking sheets with a couple of pinches of salt.
10. Place sheet with eggplant on lower rack and sheet with tomatoes on upper rack and roast until eggplant is deeply browned on the underside and tomatoes are lightly blistered, 15–25 minutes.
11. Remove both baking sheets from oven. You’ll notice that the vegetables will have shrunk quite a bit. On baking sheet with eggplant, slide a flexible metal spatula underneath ALL slices and turn them over. Slide rounds over to one side, then transfer zucchini from sheet with tomatoes onto sheet with eggplant, turning them over in the process. You should end up with tomatoes and garlic on one baking sheet, and eggplant and zucchini on the other.
12. Let baking sheet with tomatoes cool, but return baking sheet with eggplant and zucchini to lower rack and roast until second side of eggplant is deeply browned, another 10–15 minutes. Let sit until cool enough to handle.
13. Meanwhile, combine 8 oz. ricotta, ¾ tsp. red pepper flakes, and 6 oz. mozzarella in a medium bowl. Drizzle with oil and mix with a fork to combine; season lightly with salt, to taste.
14. Transfer the garlic cloves from baking sheet to a cutting board. Press on skins with a fork to force out the soft, caramelized cloves and discard the skins. Mash cloves to a paste with fork, then stir the paste into your ricotta mixture.
15. Drizzle some oil into a shallow 2-qt. baking dish. Arrange one-third of zucchini and eggplant slices in a single layer.
16. Scatter one-third of blistered tomatoes over, then dollop half of ricotta mixture over tomatoes.
17. Tear one-third of basil leaves and scatter over ricotta.
18. Repeat layering process with half of remaining eggplant and zucchini, all of remaining ricotta mixture, and half of remaining tomatoes and basil. Top with remaining eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes.
19. Sprinkle remaining 2 oz. mozzarella over and bake until mozzarella is melted and browned in spots and liquid around the edges is bubbling, 15–20 minutes.
20. Let rest 10 minutes, then top with remaining basil and drizzle with a little more oil.

 
Holy whoa, dear readers. If this doesn’t warm us all up to face the unseasonable chill, nothing will. Enjoy!