Summer isn’t over yet! Help me celebrate beautiful weather and copious amounts of tomatoes with this delicious weeknight dinner!
This is a gratin baked in a skillet, and absolutely packed to the brim with healthy and fresh ingredients. I’ve got quinoa, roasted squash and tomatoes, fresh chicken sausage, oh and I almost forgot… toasted walnut pesto. Then I added goat cheese, arugula, and melted parmesan on top. Talk about the summer meal of your dreams.
I love that this has infinite variations available. Don’t like quinoa? Sub your favorite grain! (Couscous, rice, farro, barley, millet…) You can also easily substitute different vegetables, types of sausage, etc. In the winter I love making a variety that has roasted sweet potato, balsamic vinegar roasted broccoli and Brussels sprouts, and apple chicken sausage. Whatever is in season is perfect!
About This Gratin
In this recipe, fresh summer tomatoes are the stars of the show!
While the vegetables roasted in the oven, I assembled the bottom portion of this gratin. I cooked the chicken sausage directly in the skillet to save some dish washing, then added freshly cooked quinoa and arugula. I tossed it so that the heat wilted the arugula a bit. Then I topped that layer with generous dollops of both goat cheese and toasted walnut pesto.
Once the vegetables were done roasting, I carefully layered them on top and sprinkled it with parmesan. This goes under the broiler to lightly brown the cheese and make everyone follow the delicious scent toward the kitchen.
Fresh out of the oven. Gosh I love summer tomatoes.
The leftovers from this dish make an amazing lunch at work! Healthy, fresh, and a deliciously well-balanced meal! This contains all of my favorite food groups: Whole grains, protein, fresh seasonal vegetables… and cheese!
Enjoy!!
Quinoa, Roasted Summer Vegetable, and Sausage Gratin
A delicious complete summer skillet meal! Quinoa and chicken sausage topped with goat cheese and pesto, then topped with roasted summer squash and tomatoes. So many fresh and healthy flavors! Feel free to get creative switching up the grains and vegetable variety to whatever you have on hand.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried quinoa can sub rice, farro, barley, your favorite ancient grains...
- 1 lb tomatoes, sliced 1/4" thick I like a mixed variety
- 1 1/2 lbs summer squash (about 3 medium), sliced 1/4" thick
- 2 tbsp avocado oil (or olive oil)
- 1 medium sweet yellow onion, quartered and thinly sliced
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
- 5 large fresh chicken sausages
- 4 oz. goat cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
- 2/3 recipe toasted walnut pesto (listed below)
- 3 cups fresh arugula No need to measure. Just 3 handfuls!
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease two rimmed baking sheets. Place tomatoes on one sheet in a single layer. Top with one tbsp of avocado oil and lots of salt and pepper.
On second sheet, thinly layer squash and onion. Drizzle with 1 tbsp avocado oil and minced garlic. Mix so that garlic and oil are evenly dispersed. Top with a good amount of salt and pepper.
Put both sheets in oven. Remove the tomatoes after 10 minutes, and the squash after 20 minutes total. You may need to flip the squash halfway if they look like they'll burn. Mine did not need to be flipped.
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While the vegetables are roasting in the oven, cook quinoa (or grain of choice) according to package instructions. I prefer to cook mine in chicken broth.
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Heat cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, drizzle with avocado oil. Remove fresh sausages from casings and cook until crumbled and thoroughly cooked. Turn off heat.
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Add hot quinoa (once thoroughly cooked) to cast iron skillet. Add arugula, and mix everything together. Since the sausage and quinoa are hot, the arugula should begin to wilt.
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Press quinoa mixture lightly into pan. Crumble goat cheese and spread in an even layer on top of quinoa. Add a bunch of dollops of pesto.
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Layer roasted onions on top of quinoa/goat cheese mixture. Neatly layer roasted squash in a single layer on top of onions. Finally, place all roasted tomatoes on top of squash. (I used a spatula to move the tomatoes since they were quite squishy.) Top with parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. Broil on high approximately 5 minutes until cheese is golden and melted. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn! Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
My cast iron skillet is 13 3/8 inches. If you do not have a cast iron skillet, it can also be baked in CorningWare or a glass casserole dish.
Make it vegetarian: Leave out the chicken and this dish will still be remarkably delicious and satisfying!
Toasted Walnut Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups packed basil (can sub 1/2 cup arugula)
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
- 1/4 cup avocado oil (or olive oil)
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat and toast walnuts without oil until they're light brown and fragrant, approximately 5 minutes.
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Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.
Let’s celebrate summer while we still can! My other favorite summer recipes include pasta salad, corn dip, zucchini bread, and this ultimate burger topping.
[…] This quinoa and roasted summer vegetable gratin topped with tons of tomatoes. Featuring protein, carbs, veggies, and cheese… it hits all the important food groups and makes amazing leftovers. […]