Chef Ally
Artichokes Braised in Olive Oil
Tender baby artichokes surrendered to good olive oil, garlic, and lemon, cooked low and slow until the leaves soften and the hearts turn silky. A dish that asks you to slow down.
Culinary Explorer
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Peak Season Tomato Gratin
Created by
Ripe summer tomatoes layered with garlic breadcrumbs and fresh thyme, roasted until the edges caramelize and the fruit collapses into something concentrated and sweet. The oven finishes what the sun started.
Side Dishes
French
Dinner Party
BBQ
Outdoor Dining
20 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 5 min total
Yield6 servings
This gratin exists for one reason: to honor tomatoes at their peak. You cannot make this dish in February with those pale, mealy imposters shipped from somewhere far away. Wait for August. Wait for the farmers' market table piled with misshapen heirlooms, still warm from the field, so ripe they threaten to split if you look at them sideways.
The technique here is almost nothing. You slice, you salt, you scatter breadcrumbs, you bake. That is all. The oven concentrates what the sun already gave. The tomatoes collapse and sweeten, their juices mingling with olive oil and thyme into something that tastes like the entire season distilled onto a plate.
I learned this in the South of France, where cooks understand that perfect ingredients need almost nothing done to them. A gratin like this appears on tables in Provence when tomatoes are bursting and there are simply too many to eat fresh. It is peasant food in the best sense: practical, beautiful, and deeply satisfying.
Every meal is a meaningful choice. When you buy those tomatoes from a farmer who grew them in soil you could drive to, you are keeping that farm alive. The connection matters. And the gratin tastes better for it.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
ripe summer tomatoes
Quantity
2 1/2 pounds
mixed varieties if possible
fresh breadcrumbs
Quantity
1/2 cup
from good bread
extra-virgin olive oil
Quantity
3 tablespoons, plus more for the dish
garlic
Quantity
2 cloves
minced
fresh thyme leaves
Quantity
2 tablespoons
flaky sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon, plus more for seasoning
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly cracked
Parmesan cheese
Quantity
1/4 cup
freshly grated
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| ripe summer tomatoesmixed varieties if possible | 2 1/2 pounds |
| fresh breadcrumbsfrom good bread | 1/2 cup |
| extra-virgin olive oil | 3 tablespoons, plus more for the dish |
| garlicminced | 2 cloves |
| fresh thyme leaves | 2 tablespoons |
| flaky sea salt | 1/2 teaspoon, plus more for seasoning |
| black pepperfreshly cracked | to taste |
| Parmesan cheesefreshly grated | 1/4 cup |
Equipment Needed
- •Shallow ceramic baking dish (9x13 inches or similar)
- •Sharp knife for slicing tomatoes
- •Clean kitchen towels for draining
Instructions
- 1
Select and slice tomatoes
Start with the tomatoes. They should feel heavy for their size, yield slightly to pressure, and smell like summer at the stem end. If they do not perfume your kitchen when you slice them, they are not ready. Cut them into thick rounds, about half an inch. Imperfect slices are honest slices.
Mix varieties if your market has them. Brandywines, Cherokee Purples, and Costolutos each bring something different. The gratin becomes more interesting with variation. - 2
Salt and drain tomatoes
Arrange the tomato slices in a single layer on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Let them rest for fifteen minutes. The salt draws out excess moisture so your gratin does not turn to soup. This is not a step to skip.
- 3
Prepare the breadcrumb mixture
While tomatoes drain, combine breadcrumbs, minced garlic, thyme leaves, and Parmesan in a small bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil and toss until everything is coated and fragrant. The crumbs should feel damp but not wet. Taste a pinch. Adjust salt if needed.
Make breadcrumbs from bread that has dried for a day or two. Good bread, the kind with a real crust, makes crumbs worth eating. - 4
Layer the gratin
Preheat your oven to 400F. Rub a shallow baking dish with olive oil. Blot the tomato slices gently to remove the moisture they released. Arrange them in the dish, overlapping slightly like fallen leaves. Season with a little more salt and pepper. Scatter the breadcrumb mixture evenly over the top.
- 5
Bake until golden
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the tomatoes have collapsed into themselves and the breadcrumbs are deeply golden and crisp. The juices will bubble at the edges, thick and jammy. The kitchen will smell like August.
- 6
Rest and serve
Let the gratin rest for ten minutes before serving. This is not patience for patience's sake. The juices need time to settle back into the tomatoes rather than flooding the plate. Serve warm, not hot. The flavors are clearer at a gentler temperature.
A drizzle of your best olive oil over the finished gratin is never wrong. It should be peppery and green.
Chef Tips
- •Look for tomatoes that are heavy, fragrant, and yield to gentle pressure. If they smell like nothing at the stem end, they will taste like nothing in the dish. Walk away and wait another week.
- •Mixed varieties make a more interesting gratin. Brandywines bring sweetness, Cherokee Purples add depth, Sungolds can be scattered whole for bursts of brightness. Ask your farmer what is ripest today.
- •Do not refrigerate tomatoes. Ever. Cold destroys the enzymes that create flavor. Keep them on the counter, stem side down, and use them within a few days of peak ripeness.
- •This gratin is best served warm or at room temperature, not straight from the oven. The flavors open up as it cools slightly.
- •In winter, do not attempt this with supermarket tomatoes. Make a gratin with roasted winter squash or leeks instead. Seasonal eating is not deprivation. It is anticipation.
Advance Preparation
- •The breadcrumb mixture can be made several hours ahead and kept at room temperature.
- •The assembled gratin can wait up to an hour before baking, loosely covered, at room temperature.
- •Leftovers are wonderful at room temperature the next day, spooned over crusty bread or alongside a simple green salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 160g)
Calories
130 calories
Total Fat
9 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
3 mg
Sodium
300 mg
Total Carbohydrates
12 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
4 g
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