Eat your lasagna and have your vegetables, too, with a veggie-enhanced rendition of a family favorite. This layered gratin resembles a lasagna, with one key difference: There are no pasta sheets. It’s a glimpse of summer to come, with planks of roasted Mediterranean vegetables rippling with tomato and dollops of ricotta in a gratin-cum-lasagna.

Roasted eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash slices keep this dish light and colorful, alternating with a bright tomato sauce and fluffy ricotta. All the components can be prepped in advance, ready for last-minute assembly when you are ready to bake. Pre-roast the vegetables; by doing so, the oil is kept to a minimum. The tomato sauce is simple to make, but a favorite store-bought tomato sauce can easily be substituted. And be sure to use whole-milk ricotta cheese for best flavor and results, as the skim variety can be grainy and tasteless.

Roasted Vegetable Gratin

Active time: 30 minutes

Total time: 2 hours

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Tomato sauce

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Gratin

16 ounces whole-milk ricotta

1/4 cup (packed) finely grated pecorino Romano cheese, plus about 1 cup more for sprinkling

1 garlic clove, minced

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 medium eggplants, sliced lengthwise, 1/4-inch thick

3 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise, 1/4-inch thick

3 yellow squash, sliced lengthwise, 1/4-inch thick

Olive oil for brushing

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and saute until soft without coloring, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes, salt and black pepper. Partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes. (Cool and refrigerate the sauce until use if preparing in advance.)

Whisk the ricotta, the 1/4 cup pecorino, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a bowl until smooth. (Refrigerate until use if preparing in advance.)

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Arrange the eggplant slices in one layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment. Arrange the zucchini and squash on a separate baking sheet lined with parchment. Lightly brush the vegetables with oil and season with salt and black pepper. Roast the vegetables in the oven, in batches if necessary, until tender and golden in spots, 15 to 20 minutes for the zucchini and squash, and 25 to 30 minutes for the eggplant. Remove the vegetables from the oven and reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees.

To assemble the gratin, spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the bottom of a 2.5-quart gratin or 9-inch-square baking dish. Arrange a layer of eggplant slices over the sauce. Smear dabs of the ricotta over the eggplant, then drizzle with some of the sauce and sprinkle with pecorino cheese. Repeat the layering process, alternating the zucchini and squash with the eggplant, until all the vegetables are added. Drizzle any remaining sauce over the gratin and around the edges. Finish with dabs of the remaining ricotta and an additional sprinkle of pecorino.

Transfer to the oven and bake until bubbly and golden brown on top, about 35 minutes. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

581-7500

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS

Caption 01: Photo by Lynda Balslev for TasteFood

The essence of a green goddess sauce is (surprise!) an abundance of fresh green herbs. It’s a light, bright and refreshing dip, dressing or crema. Precisely which herbs you use in the sauce is dependent upon your taste, garden and refrigerator. Suffice to say that you should use what you like, and do not skimp. I make the dressing with herbs I always have on hand, which often include parsley and cilantro. If I have chervil, tarragon, chives or dill, I’ll add them, too. Feel free to tinker and mix and match the herbs to your preference -- just be sure to mind the quantity.

The sauce in this recipe is used as a marinade for the chicken and an accompaniment for serving. I’ll often make a double batch and use the remainder for dipping crudites or drizzling over roasted potatoes or other vegetables. It’s less creamy and less sweet than many goddesses, which often include mayonnaise. This one does not. If you prefer a runnier sauce, add a little more yogurt.

Green Goddess-y Chicken Skewers

Active time: 25 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes, plus marinating time

Yield: Serves 4; makes about 1 cup sauce

Sauce:

1 cup packed Italian parsley leaves and tender stems

1 cup packed cilantro leaves and tender stems

1 cup coarsely chopped mixed herbs, such as chives, dill and/or tarragon

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup whole-milk European-style yogurt

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 scallion, white and green parts chopped

2 teaspoons drained capers

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs), cut in 1-inch pieces

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Lemon wedges

Combine the sauce ingredients in a food processor. Process to blend. Taste for seasoning. Set aside about 1/2 cup for the marinade. Reserve and refrigerate the remaining sauce for serving.

Place the chicken in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the marinade and stir to coat. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 to 4 hours, stirring the chicken occasionally.

When ready to grill, remove the chicken from the marinade and thread on skewers. (If using bamboo skewers, pre-soak them for 30 minutes.)

Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat. Grill the skewers until the chicken is cooked through the center, about 10 minutes, turning once or twice to evenly cook and char. (An instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the chicken pieces will register 165 degrees.)

Serve the chicken with lemon wedges and the reserved sauce for drizzling.

581-7500

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS

Caption 01: Photo by Lynda Balslev for TasteFood

Chowder is an all-year, all-weather soup. When the weather is wet and chilly, there’s nothing more comforting than hunkering over a steaming bowl of chowder, with seafood and chunky potatoes jockeying for space in a rich and creamy stew. When the weather shifts to sunshine and warmth, a bowl of chowder evokes the sea and beach and memories of slurping piping-hot cups of clam chowder, filled to the rim with a milky broth speckled with tender littlenecks bobbing between oyster crackers and slicks of swirling, melted butter.

My roots are in the East Coast, so a New England-style clam chowder holds a special place in my food lexicon. Which is to say that wherever I’ve lived since then (and quite far from New England), when the craving strikes, I will rally and make a chowder. This at times requires a good amount of improvisation, depending on geography and available ingredients.

Over time, I’ve devised this simple recipe, to which I return when I need an easy fix. You might call it a hack -- an inauthentic yet convenient recipe -- that delivers the briny salt and smoke of a chowder while leaning toward the lighter side for guilt-free slurping. For purists, this is not a traditional chowder, but flavor-wise, it hits the spot.

The base of my chowder always consists of onions and potatoes with a little all-purpose flour for thickening. To that, I might add leeks and root vegetables, such as celery root or turnips, depending on the status of my vegetable bin. Salt pork (or bacon) is a common ingredient in a chowder, lending the necessary salty, smoky depth of flavor to the broth. I often skip the pork component and substitute chunks of warm-smoked salmon (not cold-smoked) for that extra flavor. Of course, warm-smoked salmon is not a refrigerator staple, and as a simpler alternative, I’ll add a generous spoonful of smoked paprika and up the salt. Finally, I add chicken stock to the base of the stew/chowder for more depth of flavor, then finish with a cup of milk or half-and-half for a lightly creamy broth.

So, whether you call this a chowder hack or a faux chowder, it’s a recipe worth keeping for a quick weeknight improvisation. Note that the clams are cooked in their shells in this recipe. While they cook, the clam shells will open and release their juices into the broth. Choose small clams, such as littlenecks or Manila clams, or even substitute small mussels. And in the spirit of ultimate flexibility, you can switch the shellfish out entirely and add chunks of firm-fleshed fish, such as salmon or halibut, and call it a fish chowder.

Clam Chowder

Active time: 35 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 to 2 leeks, white and pale green parts chopped

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups chicken stock (and/or water)

10 to 12 ounces Yukon gold potatoes, cut in bite-size chunks

1 large turnip, diced

2 thyme sprigs

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

16 littleneck clams

1 to 1 1/2 cups whole milk (or half-and-half)

1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco

Heat the oil and melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and leeks and saute until soft without coloring, about 3 minutes. Add the flour and stir until slightly toasty in aroma, 1 to 2 minutes.

Pour in 2 cups chicken stock and whisk to blend. Add the potatoes, turnip, thyme and smoked paprika. Add additional chicken stock (or water) to completely cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, partially cover the pot, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Add the clams to the pot. Cover the pot and cook until the clams open, 5 to 7 minutes. (Discard any unopened clams.) Stir in the milk, salt, black pepper and hot sauce and continue to cook until just heated through. Taste for seasoning. Serve immediately.

581-7500

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS

Caption 01: Photo by Lynda Balslev for TasteFood