Best Ever Ratatouille
"From Joy of Cooking. This Provencal vegetable melange can be served chilled with a splash of lemon or herb vinegar. Or serve it warm as an accompaniment to lamb or chicken or as a vegetarian entree with saffron rice."
photo by May I Have That Rec
- Ready In:
- 1hr 50mins
- Ingredients:
- 12
- Serves:
-
4-6
ingredients
- 1⁄4 cup olive oil
- 1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (1 lb)
- 1 lb zucchini, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1⁄2 cups onions, sliced
- 2 large red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch squares
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1 1⁄2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped seeded peeled
- 2 -3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1⁄4 cup fresh basil, chopped
directions
- Saute in a large skillet or Dutch oven over high heat until the vegetables are golden and just tender, 10 to 12 minutes: 1/4 C olive oil, eggplant and zucchini.
- Remove the vegetables and reduce the heat to medium-high. In the same pan, cook until the onions are slightly softened: 2 T of olive oil and onions.
- Add and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender but not browned, 8 to 12 minutes: red pepper and garlic.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add: tomatoes, thyme and bay leaf.
- Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 5 minutes.
- Add the eggplant and zucchini and cook until everything is tender, about 20 minutes more. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Stir in: basil.
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Reviews
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Took a bit of time, so a good weekend recipe. But very easy to follow, and the result was delicious. I used one 15 ounce can of cut tomatoes instead of fresh since winter tomatoes aren't very good. Also, since fresh basil is so expensive this time of yearl, I stirred in a heaping tablespoon of basil pesto right before serving. Both substitutions worked just fine. -
I love this recipe, it's very hardy and easy to make. To me it tastes like pizza soup. -
This is quite a bit of work chopping everything but the resulting stew is well worth the effort. I tried this for the first time as I needed to use up eggplants from the CSA box. I served it as a main course with rolls on the side and am looking forward to having this for lunches this week. -
Yum, thanks! -
This was fabulous. I usually make a very simple version of ratatouille. Going to a bit of extra trouble really paid off. We had it as a side dish with fish and really felt like we'd eaten real food full of goodness as well as taste. Thanks heaps.
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Tweaks
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This is one of the best dishes that I have ever put into my mouth!!!!!! I was inspired by the movie (I just love the message of that movie especially for kids!) and I had never made ratatouille. Oh the years wasted not having this dish in my life!!!!!!! Don't waste another day not trying this!!!! I chose this recipe because of the red bell peppers in it instead of green bell peppers because I thought it would balance out the eggplant nicely. It did perfectly!!!!!!!!!! At the point of peeling the tomatoes, I remembered my Gramma had shown me how to remove the peels easily. You just put the tomatoes (remove the stem so it starts the skin) into some semi-boiling water and they peel right off with a knife! I used 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper and I didn't think it needed anymore seasoning before adding the basil. I kept the cover on and my heat on low for that last 20 minutes of cooking. Thank you so much for posting this recipe, it is wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
