There are particular Mediterranean* dishes that simply scream “summer time” and ratatouille is one in every of them. (Gazpacho is one other one.) After all, now that I’ve mentioned that, I actually assume this dish will work any time of yr. Sure, even when the staple substances — eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes — should not in season.
*FYI, I did write recently in The Seattle Times that I might be focusing much less on the Mediterranean food regimen, as a result of I believe it’s been unfairly held up on a pedestal. That mentioned, I do take pleasure in Mediterranean dishes and embody them in my repertoire.
In contrast to, say, a recent vegetable dish, the place seasonality issues (no tasteless mushy tomatoes, please), if you stew veggies this manner, it’s extra forgiving. I take pleasure in making an enormous batch that I can eat for days, particularly when it’s too sizzling to need to prepare dinner each night.
Notion vs. actuality
I’ve made this recipe a number of instances, however one explicit time stands out. I had made it a day forward of time, and after we had it for dinner the subsequent night, my husband mentioned, “I do know you labored actually laborious on this, however…”
I swear, I believed he was going to say, “…but it surely wasn’t that good.” (I don’t know why I believed this, as a result of, once more I’d made it a number of instances and he at all times appreciated it.) However no, he completed, “…are you able to make it each week?”
As for the “working laborious” half, this recipe isn’t difficult. It does take a while chopping and being close to the range, true. Nonetheless, when you have all the stovetop substances chopped and able to go earlier than you begin sautéing, it’s a breeze.
As you control issues and stir the contents of the pan often, there’s loads of time to drink a cup of espresso — or glass of wine — load or unload the dishwasher, clear up the bowls you’re accomplished with, chat along with your partner, buddy, baby or pet, and so forth. I suppose it’s good that the completed product fools whoever you serve it to that you simply had been working like a fiend within the kitchen!
Ratatouille
This traditional Provençal dish incorporates a wealth of summer time greens, cooked in olive oil and flavored with basil and tyme.
Elements
- 1 pound eggplant sliced crosswise into 1-inch thick rounds
- 4-5 tablespoons additional virgin olive oil
- 1 pound zucchini trimmed, halved lengthwise, and sliced into 1/2-inch thick half-moons
- 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1 massive pink bell pepper cored, seeded and chopped
- 4 massive garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 4 Roma (plum) tomatoes seeded and chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 sprigs recent thyme
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1/4 cup recent basil finely chopped
Directions
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Place a rack in the midst of the oven, and preheat the oven to 400F.
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Organize the eggplant slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet (line with foil or parchment paper for simpler cleanup).
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Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small bowl, and brush onto the eggplant, then flip the slices and brush the second sides. Both sides ought to have a skinny coating of oil.
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Bake for half-hour, flipping the slices midway by. When accomplished, the slices shall be mushy and calmly browned on all sides. Take away from the oven and funky. Lower into tough 1-inch items and put aside.
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Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high warmth in a Dutch oven or a big, deep skillet. Add the zucchini half-moons and sauté, stirring often, till golden and simply tender, about 10-12 minutes. Take away the zucchini to a big bowl, taking care to go away any extra oil behind within the pan.
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Scale back the warmth to medium and add 1 tablespoon olive oil if there is no such thing as a oil left within the pan (this generally occurs). Add the onion and prepare dinner, stirring often, till barely softened, about 4 to five minutes.
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Add the bell pepper and garlic and prepare dinner, stirring often, till simply tender however not browned, about 6 minutes.
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Add the tomatoes, salt, thyme, and bay leaf and stir to mix. Scale back the warmth to low, cowl, and prepare dinner for five minutes.
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Add the eggplant and zucchini, stir all the things collectively, and prepare dinner for an additional 15 to twenty minutes. Style and alter the salt as vital. Discard the bay leaf and stir within the basil.
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Serve sizzling, heat or at room temperature.
Notes
It is a excellent summer time dish, not simply because it makes essentially the most of high-summer greens, however as a result of it’s simple to double and is even higher made forward. The leftovers work fantastically with some grilled salmon or hen on the facet, or maybe a bean dish. For breakfast (or heck, lunch or dinner), prime with a fried or poached egg. To maintain with the informal summer time theme, please not that you simply don’t have to be exact with the quantities. Whenever you’re coping with entire substances like eggplants and zucchini, it’s laborious to make it come precisely to a pound. The recipe will nonetheless be simply fantastic!
Carrie Dennett is a Pacific Northwest-based registered dietitian nutritionist, freelance author, intuitive consuming counselor, writer, and speaker. Her superpowers embody busting diet myths and empowering girls to really feel higher of their our bodies and make meals selections that assist pleasure, diet and well being.
