Ratatouille - The Meal, Not the Movie

I may be the only mother in America who hasn’t seen this movie. Can’t imagine how I missed it. However, I used to make pots of ratatouille before children thanks to the Moosewood Cookbook. The other day I was reading a wonderful book by Molly Wizenberg and I fell in love with ratatouille all over again. It has all the hallmarks of a great meal: easy, delicious, inexpensive. This is an adaptation of her recipe. There are so many versions and this is one recipe that you can experiment with endlessly to make it your own.

1 eggplant - trim ends off and cut into round discs about 1 inch thick
4 medium zucchini - trim the ends, cut the long way and then into half moons 1/2 in. thick
1 large yellow onion - chopped
1 red pepper - cored, seeded, and chopped
5 cloves garlic - cut into thin strips
5 Roma tomatoes - cut off stem end and squeeze firmly to remove seeds. Chop roughly
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
Olive oil

Set oven to 400 degrees. Cover baking sheet with tin foil and spray foil with cooking spray. Set eggplant circles on sheet. Drizzle oil on each piece and rub in gently. Do this one at a time because the oil soaks in fast. Eggplant is like a crazy sponge! Oil both sides, then pop in oven for 15 minutes on one side. Flip the pieces over and cook an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven, cut into bit-sized pieces, and set aside.

In large dutch oven (pot in pic is a dutch oven - go big!), pour 2 tablespoons olive oil, and warm over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and saute until golden and tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute onion until soft, about 6 minutes. Lower heat as you don’t want the onion to brown. Remove onion and set with zucchini.

Add 1 more tablespoon olive oil and red pepper. Saute until tender (not brown) about 6 minutes. Add garlic, stirring constantly for 30 seconds so garlic doesn’t burn. Then add all the just-cooked vegetables, along with tomatoes, herbs & salt, into the pot. Cover and cook on low heat for 20 - 25 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Veggies will get progressively more tender as you heat, so if you want more of an “al dente” version, then keep an eye on the cooking time.

Serve with good crusty bread or over pasta with some parmesan. There are, however, tons of ways to use ratatouille. Spread some on a pizza-tortilla (see July 28 post), dot with feta cheese, and bake in 400 degree oven until cheese melts. Place a fried egg on top and eat with toast. Add a large spoonful to chicken broth, then whisk vigorously or place in blender for a nice veggie soup.

Also, If you want added protein, throw in a can of drained & rinsed chick peas during the final covered cooking. This recipe makes a lot, but ratatouille gets better the second day. You can also freeze left overs and enjoy a few weeks later.