Visuals count, especially when appetites wilted by summer heat need a pick-me-up. The look of this eggplant and tomato casserole is just the thing, the glossy purple of the eggplant offset by the red stripes of the sliced tomatoes that have been wedged gently into the eggplant before baking.
I've never forgotten how impressed I was the first time I saw this tian d'aubergines in 1999 in Chester, Conn. Monique Hanson, former owner of a home-based cooking school, was making the dish for a lunch party the next day; I was writing a series about local cooks for the Hartford Courant.
Hanson, now retired and still living in that small Connecticut River town, continues to make this dish, often pairing it with leg of lamb seasoned with herbes de Provence. The dish can be served hot, cold or room temperature. Now, she likes it cold.
"In the summer, it's always nice to have something cold when it's hot outside," Hanson said recently by phone.
Along with its appearance, it also will be hard to forget how good this dish tastes, particularly if you are using just-harvested eggplant, ripe tomatoes and fresh-picked thyme from the farmers market or your garden.
