We called this breading this way because, unlike many of the others, we have not included exotic flavors (such as paprika and turmeric) but only flavors of our peasant tradition. Many of these were included, to obtain a mixture with strong flavors but also with delicate aromatic notes thanks to oregano.
The secret of gratin and breading
You probably know well what a breaded dish is and what a gratin dish is, maybe if you like cooking you also know how to prepare both, but you know why you usually add parmesan or other cheese to the breadcrumbs in gratin vegetables, you know why with meats can you risk not doing it? Do you know why you dip the foods to be breaded in the egg before the breadcrumbs? Because both the tasty crust that forms on the surface of the gratin dishes, leaving a softer and moister heart of the dish underneath, and the crunchy golden crust of the breading are the result of the same chemical processes, a series of complex chemical reactions that occur when proteins react with sugars. Obviously in preparations for breading and gratins the breadcrumbs or flour as carbohydrates represent the sugars, while the egg and cheese mentioned in the previous examples represent the proteins and equally obviously it is essential to introduce them in the vegetable gratins while in the fish or meat gratins in reality they would already be present in the dish. Who knows if it is just a coincidence that gratin is a word of French origin and that these chemical processes are known as the Maillard reaction after the name of the French doctor and chemist (Louis Camille Maillard) who first described them. Let's be clear, he was dealing with something completely different, not cooking, he was interested in the synthesis of proteins and described how amino acids (building blocks of proteins) reacted with sugars.
Where to use country gratin breading
In this preparation you will find everything: potatoes, tomato, rosemary, onion and oregano. So essentially you could use it as a breading for any type of dish because at least one or two of the flavors will have been traditionally used in an infinite number of recipes in combination with that dish, be it vegetables, red meat, white meat, etc... Certainly the flavor of the tomato (especially) and the potatoes is a little more decisive than that of the spices, so it will depend a lot on your taste where you want to experiment with it.
