BOHEMIENNE: French Eggplant & Tomato Gratin

We all love our ratatouille from Provence, but say hello to the "Bohemienne", a cousin of ratatouille and if I may say, even better!

I saw a French blogger make this recently on her site and I was in.

I had never heard of this eggplant and tomato dish before, but now I have and there is no turning back!

I made up a recipe taken from a few French websites which came out so delicious, I had to stop myself from eating the entire dish!

This is best served warm, about an hour after baking.

Here is how I made it.

Bohemienne:

2 medium size eggplants, diced

3 ripe tomatoes (I also threw in cherry tomatoes), diced 

1 large yellow onion, diced (same size for all the vegetables)

2 garlic cloves, chopped

3 anchovies (DON'T SKIP THIS!)

kosher salt & pepper

1/2 milk

1 tbsp flour

panko breadcrumbs and parmesan for the top

In a large saucepan, cook the eggplant, tomatoes, onion, garlic and anchovies in some olive oil on medium heat for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are getting soft (you don't want them brown).   Season with plenty of kosher salt & pepper.

After the dish looks done, add in the milk with flour to make a roux, and stir around another minute.

Transfer this mixture to an oiled gratin dish and sprinkle the top with panko breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.

Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake in a 375F oven for 30-35 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Let rest about 15 minutes before diving in.

You could definitely add some fresh thyme or basil to this dish, but since I was experimenting, I kept it simple.

A great recipe to use up the season's aubergine!  

xo