Ratatouille
No, not the movie…even though it’s a good one! The dish! We’re making this famous French dish perfect for enjoying the abundance of summer vegetables. It takes a bit of work, but you end up with a beautiful result. This dish tastes better the next day so it’s a perfect dish to make ahead for a cookout or summer picnic.
Ingredients:
4 garlic cloves
2 medium white or yellow onions
3 medium zucchini
2 medium eggplant
3 sweet peppers (such as bell peppers, red cubanelle, etc.)
3 sprigs fresh rosemary*
6 sprigs of fresh thyme*
2 small bay leaves, ripped in half*
1 cup olive oil, more as needed
2 large heirloom or beefsteak tomatoes**
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
*If you don’t have these herbs, don’t sweat it! Substitute (or even add) for any Herbes de Provence: Marjoram, Savory, Basil, Fennel, Oregano
**You can “save time” and skip the tomato process by substituting with canned tomatoes, but what are you really “saving time” for? Another streaming service episode? Another scroll on social media? Replying to a work email? Try to take this time to really dive in, respect the ingredients and create deliciousness.
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut eggplant into 1-inch cubes or spears. In a colander, toss eggplant with 1 1/2 tsp salt and let sit for about 20 minutes, then squeeze out the excess liquid.
Smash and peel 3 garlic cloves, reserving the 4th. Slice onions into 1/4 inch-thick pieces. Slice zucchini into 1/4 inch-thick rounds. Seed peppers and cut them into 1/4-inch-thick strips.
Spread each vegetable on separate rimmed baking sheets. Add 3 cloves of smashed garlic into the onion pan. Add 1 sprig of rosemary and 2 sprigs of thyme to each of the pepper, eggplant and zucchini pans (or sub for 1 tablespoon fresh marjoram or oregano leaves). Sprinkle salt over vegetables and drizzle 3 tbsp olive oil on each.
Place all pans in the oven, or work in batches if they don’t all fit. Cook until veggies are very tender and lightly browned at the edges. This can take 35-40 minutes for the peppers, 40-45 minutes for the eggplant and zucchini, and 60-65 minutes for the onions, so plan accordingly and let the oven do the work for you! (PLEASE NOTE ALL OVEN TIMES VARY—KEEP AN EYE ON IT) The veggies should be tender and the eggplant should crisp slightly. Make sure to shake or stir the pans every 10-15 minutes, especially the onions.
In the meantime, prepare the tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add tomatoes and blanch until the skins split, about 10 seconds. Quickly transfer the tomatoes to a bowl filled with ice water.
Peel the cooled tomatoes, the skin should slip right off! Halve the tomatoes horizontally. Set a sieve over a bowl. Working over the bowl, use your fingers to seed the tomatoes, letting the seeds catch in the sieve and the juice run into the bowl. Save the juice and add to the diced tomatoes in a bowl. (You can save the seeds if you’re feeling adventurous and want to try growing your own tomatoes!)
Grate or finely mince the remaining garlic clove over the tomatoes. Add the bay leaves and a large pinch of salt.
Once the vegetables are done cooking, combine them all into one baking pan (preferably the onion one for extra flavor), or a large shallow baking dish. Add ingredients from tomato bowl. Toss and combine well. Cover with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper. Place in the oven for at least half an hour, stirring every 10 minutes as well. Once vegetables are very tender and everything is looking juicy, pull and add salt and pepper to taste. You can top with fresh basil if you’d like.
Be proud of yourself! You just made classic ratatouille! Serve as a side dish, over pasta or toast, or just enjoy as is! I served mine with potatoes because you can’t go wrong with potatoes.
