CHEFS' RECIPES
Thomas Keller: Toasted vegetable jardinière

Thomas Keller: Toasted vegetable jardinière

The vegetables should have a good, soft texture but the bread should have some bite to it.

Serves 2

Cooking Time Prep time 15 mins, cook 1 hr (plus standing, cooling)



1   small eggplant, thinly sliced
60 gm   (2 small) portobello mushrooms
1   small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 tbsp   extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing and drizzling
1   small red onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp   Chardonnay vinegar
1 tsp   finely chopped thyme
1   garlic clove, finely chopped
60 gm   shop-bought roast red capsicum, thickly sliced
4   multi-grain bread slices, to serve
60 gm   thinly sliced Gruyère, to serve
Rocket purée
250 gm   wild rocket, picked
25 ml   extra-virgin olive oil


1 Preheat oven to 190C. Arrange eggplant in a single layer in a non-reactive dish. Scatter with 20gm fine sea salt and stand to drain bitter juices (1 hour). Drain, rinse and set aside.
2 Place eggplant, mushrooms and fennel on a baking paper-lined oven tray, brush with oil, season to taste and roast until tender (20–25 minutes).
3 Combine onion, vinegar, thyme, garlic and oil on a baking paper-lined roasting tray, season to taste, cover with foil, roast until tender (20-30 minutes) and cool.
4 Meanwhile, for rocket purée, blanch rocket (5-10 seconds), then refresh. Drain well, squeeze out excess moisture, then process in a small food processor until finely chopped (1 minute). With the motor running, slowly add oil and process until a fine paste forms, season to taste and refrigerate until required.
5 Preheat a sandwich press to medium heat, spread two bread slices with rocket purée, layer with roast vegetables and Gruyère, season to taste and top with remaining bread slices. Drizzle sandwich with oil and toast until golden (3-4 minutes), serve immediately.


Drink Suggestion A young, savoury sangiovese.

RECIPE Thomas Keller PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Chen STYLING Emma Knowles and Geraldine Munoz DRINK SUGGESTION Max Allen

Search by cuisine, name, ingredients...

Gourmet Traveller magazine

Subscribe and win!

Subscribe or renew your subscription to Gourmet Traveller this month and go into the draw to win a trip of a lifetime to Tahiti and Los Angeles valued at $26,000!
Get 12 months of Gourmet Traveller for the online only price of $65
Subscribe Now!