Eggplant Tomato Bake

A few weeks ago a friend brought this for dinner. This baked  dish from Whole Living was delicious and very easy. This time of year my menu is dictated largely by the CSA: what's in our share this week? When the eggplant got a little out of control, I decided to experiment with more vegetable baking and today's recipe is the result.

Remember how I planted that herb garden way back in May? Remember how I promised to share recipes? Well, those herbs are still growing and definitely coming in handy. If you have fresh oregano and thyme, you will love this. Of course you can choose your own herbs...marjoram and basil would be delicious, too.

Eggplant Tomato Bake

1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced (about 1/2 inch slices or a bit thinner work well)
2-3 medium tomatoes, sliced (you can also peel the tomatoes before using, but it isn't necessary)
3-4 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup panko or other bread crumbs
1/4 -1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp each (or more) fresh thyme and oregano leaves

Preheat oven to 375. Spread a tablespoon or two of oil in a 9 x 12 baking dish, then layer eggplant and tomato slices, overlapping them to fill the pan. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the slices, then sprinkle with the fresh herbs (you can chop the oregano if the leaves are too big). Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove foil and sprinkle the top with the bread crumbs and cheeses, then return the uncovered pan to the oven until cheese is melted (about 10 minutes). Serve as a side or on pasta (we used angel hair. Yum.).

If you have lots of eggplant in your garden or your farm share, have you tried baba ghanoush? (Even if you haven't, you should definitely try saying it. It's a garlicky dip and it's delicious. And it has a great name.)

What's your favorite way to eat these end-of-summer veggies?