Provení§al Tian

From Low-Carb Vegetarian (Whitecap Books, $16.95) by Celia Brooks Brown. Reprinted with permission by Whitecap Books. Publish Date: 27-Jan-2005

The arrangement of the vegetables in three colourful stripes makes this a pií¨ce de résistance, although you can just throw it all in haphazardly without affecting the flavour. The recipe makes a generous quantity; leftovers are lovely to eat cold as a salad.

butter, for greasing
1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced into rings
1 1/2 cups vine or plum tomatoes, sliced
1 1/2 cups zucchini, sliced in half-inch rounds
400 grams artichoke hearts, drained and halved
1 1/2 cups eggplant, sliced in quarter-inch rounds
1 1/3 cups fennel, sliced
1/2 cup good-quality black olives
4 bay leaves
200 grams fresh goat's cheese (optional)
freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
a handful of fresh basil, shredded
2 tablespoons capers
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 ° F. Lightly grease a wide rectangular ovenproof dish. Aim to alternate each pair of vegetables with one another: place the red bell pepper and tomatoes alternately in one red stripe across the top of the dish, and the zucchini and artichoke hearts in one green stripe across the bottom. Arrange the slices of eggplant and fennel in the middle.

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients and spoon almost all the mixture over the vegetables as evenly as possible. Brush every exposed surface with the remaining dressing. Season with plenty of pepper and garnish with olives and bay leaves.

Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, until the vegetables are soft, sizzling, and well-browned around the edges. Remove from the oven and crumble the goat's cheese, if using, over the surface. Serve warm or cold.

Serves eight. Per serving: carbs: six grams, protein: nine grams, calories: 180, fibre: three grams, fat: 13 grams (saturated fat: six grams).

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