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Eggplant and Tomato Gratin

A baked casserole of sliced eggplant and tomato with breadcrumbs, herbs, garlic, cream, mozzarella, and parmesan.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and eggplant match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 651 recipes mention both. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

The recipe

Oven350°F
Time45 minutes

Ingredients

Contains: milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Prepare the vegetables

  1. Place tomato slices on paper towels and sprinkle with ¼ tsp salt, then place more paper towels on top of the tomatoes.

  2. Let the tomatoes stand for 30 minutes.

  3. Pat the tops of the tomatoes dry.

  4. Coat both sides of the eggplant slices with cooking spray.

  5. Heat the broiler.

  6. Broil the eggplant on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray for 5 minutes on each side or until tender.

Assemble the gratin

  1. Reduce the oven heat to 350°F.

  2. Coat a 2½-quart baking dish with nonstick spray.

  3. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the bottom of the dish.

  4. Arrange the eggplant and tomato slices, alternating, in the baking dish.

  5. Sprinkle the casserole with oregano, basil, garlic, and the remaining salt.

  6. Drizzle with half and half.

  7. Top with shredded mozzarella and grated parmesan.

  8. Cover the dish with foil.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake for 45 minutes.

  2. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is golden.

  3. Cool for 10 minutes, then serve.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Tomato + eggplanttop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together651 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Mozzarella cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  3. Oregano + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,390 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Tomato + basiltop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together3,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  5. Tomato + oreganotop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together2,767 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggplants
Provide the main bulk and tender texture that softens during broiling and baking.
Tomatoes
Add moisture and acidity; salting and drying them first limits excess liquid in the dish.
Mozzarella cheese
Melts into a stretchy layer and browns on top, binding the dish together.
Parmesan cheese
Adds savory flavor and helps the top brown and crisp.
Half and half
Adds richness and moisture that keeps the layers from drying out as they bake.
Bread crumbs
Absorb liquid at the base of the dish, adding light structure and a little texture.

The step that matters

Drying the salted tomatoes. Salt draws water out of the tomato slices. Standing them on paper towels and patting them dry removes that liquid, so the gratin does not turn watery or soggy as it bakes.

Flavor stand-ins for the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, eggplant, bread, oregano, basil, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese):

  1. Garlicthe original
  2. Thymeabout as good a flavor fit
  3. Marjoramabout as good a flavor fit
  4. Rosemaryabout as good a flavor fit

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, eggplant, bread, oregano, basil, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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