Once upon a time... A crumble

[spacedlaw]

It all started with a challenge. Vegetables piled on the counter and the task to find - yet again – a new way with the usual summer fare: eggplants and zucchini. Stuff them, grill them, sauté them, casserole...
At this point in time, the eyes keep to the fare, trying to stare the stuff into submission while the mind goes its own way, opens all the cupboard on the sly and runs a quick inspection. Raids the fridge too. A brief reconnoitre of the facilities and exit points.
There's an oven and a baking dish.
Yes, but...
But what?
We don't really have time to bake. And besides it's hot out.
Nonsense. There's a microwave oven too.
Meh...
Don't you meh me, you twit. Get to work.

Eggplants – they are very small – are sliced thinly. A few millimetres thick at best. Sprinkled with salt. The zucchini go next. They are the Roman variety, young, pale green and all hard ribs. They get cut into strips as well. When this is done, you'll have to pat the eggplants bits dry.

Take a oven proof dish next and start alternating the slices on their side until the dish is full of standing strips. At this point, they are raw and leaning against each others. Place a lid on the dish and they all get microwaved on high (900w) for five minutes.
Here I reckon it is best to let it cool while the normal oven goes to 200C.

While this is happening, you need to tackle the mozzarella. Slippery shifty things they are. Thin strips is what you are after, which can be challenging, even if using fior di latte, which tends to be firmer than the buffala sort. The application of much under breath swearing and glaring can be used to subdue the enemy.
This done, there is always an amusing moment of “let's see how we can burn ourselves by trying to drain the liquid from the oven dish without taking out the solid content out first”. Easily done if you have a lid.
Mind the burns!
The slices are more supple now, so in theory it should be easy to slip a slice of cheese every two strips – zucchini, eggplant, mozzarella, zucchini, eggplant, mozzarella, etc. - but this soon turns into some sort of slow dance for scalded fingers to the tune of more choice swearing. But face it; it all looks grand and colourful.
Add a few torn basil leaves on top. Drizzle with oil (especially down the sides) and cover with a thin layer of tomato sauce.

Follow your brain back to the pantry for a moment.
There are rolled oats and almonds there. And a huge block of Parmesan in the fridge. There is also a small food processor in one of those appliances drawers, the type one could typically have to chop herbs and such.
A handful of oats, another one of almonds, a few bits of cheese - to taste – need to find their way into the small mixer and a few pulses should reduce the whole thing into a rough meal of some sort.

If you sprinkle this over the oven dish, add a generous portion of black pepper, a drizzle of oil and pop the all thing in the oven for about 20 minutes, you have all the time in the world to go and annoy the cats with spurious cuddles.
All you have to really worry about is the top having to get golden but not burnt. Or getting scratched by the cats.



Let cool before eating – it will be great cold too – as all those vegetables have a nasty tendency to retain heat for a long time. You've already brunt your fingers: show mercy for your palate and tongue.
If you want to do over the top in the fancy way, you could try to bake individual portions of this. But then again: It's so much more fun to annoy the cats instead.