Eggplant Tomato Custard

So i have been on an Ayurvedic cleanse for the last 4 weeks or so. Mostly I have been eating basmati rice cooked in ghee and Indian spices with a variety of vegetables, interspersed with kitchare.

Tonight was the first thing I cooked other than that. Inspired from a recipe from Deborah Madison's Green's Cookbook. I rarely cook eggplant. Eric cannot stand it. So I never buy it. But Steve gave me a CSA box the other day filled with it, so what's a dedicated local organic cook to do??

Also, I already had some tomato sauce made from roasted heirloom tomatoes with a little bit of garlic and lemon basil, so the dish was super easy.

1. If you do not already have tomato sauce made set the oven to 400. Core and half 3 to 5 heirloom tomatoes, depending on the size. Place Cut side up on baking sheet. Rub with Olive oil and grind fresh pepper. Roast for about 45 minutes, or until they look shiny and dry. Remove from oven and let cool a bit before handling.
2. In a large bowl, mash a clove or more of garlic, add tomatoes and mix. Rip up some of BD's amazing Lemon Basil and add to sauce. Add more olive oil and some balsamic vinegar.
3. Turn oven down to 350
4. Diagonally Slice up 2 or 3 your perfectly grown Japanese eggplant grown by Steve Sprinkle.
5. Heat some oil in pan and once hot, add the eggplant slices. Brown on both sides. Remove to a plate with paper towels to drain and cook remainder.
6. To assemble the gratin, spread some tomato sauce into the bottom of a pyrex or earthware dish. Tonight I used my 9" circular Pyrex dish cuz I was the only one eating it. (Again, eric hates eggplant). Layer with eggplant slices. Salt and Pepper. Grate some Gruyere cheese on top and scatter whole or sliced basil. Add another layer of eggplant, more cheese and more basil and then top off with tomato sauce.
7. To make the custard top, beat one egg with 1/2 cup of ricotta, a shy 1/3 cup of milk, grated Parmesan and saffron softened in hot water.
8. Pour custard on top of gratin and put in oven. I ended up baking it for about 50 minutes. Usually I set the oven for about 3/4 of the time I think it might take so I can check on it. Then add time. The custard top puffs, hardens and becomes a beautiful golden brown.

I ate it straight and liked it that way. To serve to a pal, might be nice to have a rocket citrus salad to compliment or to keep the heartiness, some rice would make it more dense.