Fresh Vegetable Tian

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 small Japanese eggplant, thinly sliced on diagonal
• 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced on diagonal
• 4 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
• coarse salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 head garlic
• 1/3 cup shredded gruyere cheese
• crusty bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick and toasted,for serving (optional)

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 400°; grease a 9" x 13" baking dish with 1 T olive oil.

2. 2

   Arrange the vegetables in the dish in slightly overlapping rows, alternating potato, eggplant, zucchini and tomato; season with salt and pepper; place rosemary sprigs on top and garlic in the center of the dish; drizzle everything with the remaining 3 T of oil.

3. 3

   To keep the dish moist and tender, swirl the dish to move the oil around every 10 minutes; bake 40-50 minutes, until vegetables are tender and garlic is soft.

4. 4

   Remove from oven; remove the rosemary sprigs and set the garlic aside to cool a bit; squeeze the garlic flesh into a bowl and mash; spread it on the vegetables or on the toast if you prefer; sprinkle vegetables with cheese and return to oven 2-3 minutes until cheese is just melted; serve warm.