Baked Vegetables with Bread Crumbs - Verdure Gratinate

Now this is home cooking in Italy. Verdure gratinate (baked vegetables with bread crumbs) can be found on many tables here in our area, always delicious - warm & toasty or packed up for a pot-luck.  The thick slices of onions are my favorite and are basically the best onion rings ever! They come out soft & warm inside with perfectly light & crispy crunch. To top it off this healthy dish is incredibly simple to make & can be served as an antipasto or at the end of the meal with your meat as a contorno.

Baked Vegetables with Bread Crumbs

Verdure Gratinate

serves 4

ingredients:

(Below are suggested veggies, you can use any kind of vegetables you like, cut in half, lengthwise so they have a large flat surface)
1 tomato

1 small zucchini

1 eggplant

1 onion (thickly sliced)

1 pepper

small handful of fresh herbs of your choice (we use: oregano, parsley or marjoram), chopped
salt & pepper
olive oil
about a cup of plain bread crumbs

Season plain breadcrumbs with fresh herbs.
Place veggies on cookie sheet, (covered in parchment paper) drizzle with olive oil, add salt & pepper.
Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over vegetables, covering them completely (but don't go crazy with a half an inch of breadcrumbs).
Finish with another drizzle of olive oil.
Bake 375 F / 190C degrees oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour, until vegetables are soft & breadcrumbs are browned on top.
Serve warm or room temperature.