I have to admit, I'm a teensy bit jealous of people who have a strong cultural background. They state confidently that they are Greek or German or Italian, and they have the food traditions to go along with it. But me? I'm about as WASPy as they come, so I have to borrow from my Greek and Italian and German friends to get some good recipes. Like this one. Don't worry if you can't pronounce the name. You can just call it "roasted vegetables of heaven" since that's what they taste like.
Before going into the oven for two hours, this amalgamation of chopped up vegetables is a perfect way of using up the summer harvest: eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, or whatever else you have lying around that sounds good. When I picked up my CSA, I nabbed a bouquet of herbs that included parsley, sage, thyme, and a little basil (no rosemary though!) from another vendor at the farmers market and added it to this. After two hours, the vegetables had turned to butter, so smooth and sweet and creamy. Perfect for eating alone or as a side dish for some roast chicken thighs. I suppose that's a Greek take on a Southern Sunday supper.
Tourlou Tourlou
source: Elly Says Opa!
Ingredients
1 eggplant, sliced into about 1/2″ slices (peeled or unpeeled depending on preference)
2 large zucchini, sliced
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 large yellow or vidalia onion, cut in half and then sliced thinly
4 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 lbs. potatoes, peeled and sliced or cut into chunks
1 green bell pepper, sliced or cut into 1″ bites
1 bunch of fresh mixed herbs
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 375. Toss all the vegetables, salt (use a healthy amount, it’s a lot of vegetables!) and pepper, and the herbs with the olive oil in a large pan. Mix the crushed tomatoes with 1/2 cup of water and then pour the mixture over the whole pan.
Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 2 hours.
