As the garden has been trickling in, I’ve found myself craving particular dishes made from that garden produce. In particular this week, I just had a HUGE hankering for a great bowl of Ratatouille. I was missing the eggplant though. This year I didn’t grow any eggplant, and while I’ve already made a note to just do one or two plants next year, I didn’t have it, and I wasn’t sure if Ratatouille would be the same without it.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about it!! I had everything else on hand except the eggplant, and as I thought more about it, I thought that I needed to come here on the blog and find my recipe for Ratatouille and see how it went. Only, when I did a search, I discovered that I never actually had blogged about it, and that right there cemented for me that I needed to actually make Ratatouille- eggplant or not- because it is so easy, so delicious, and contains the very essence of August within. It just tastes like this time of year- with all the fresh produce so abundant in home gardens and markets, just begging to be treated simply and enjoyed. And that’s exactly what this Ratatouille is.
It’s simple, but it absolutely must be made with the freshest and best. Supermarket tomatoes will not do at all, and dried herbs… Eh, I’m on the fence about that. I suspect a light dusting of a good herbes de provence blend could suffice for the fresh herbs in a pinch. But that fresh rosemary, thyme and tarragon from my garden made this year’s Ratatouille the best I’ve ever had.
I really had to hunt for my recipe, but I eventually found it, and decided after looking at it that I would simply use extra squash instead of the eggplant. I had one green zucchini and two yellow squash sitting on the counter, and this was the perfect way to use them. I actually minced the garlic instead of slicing it this time, and I thought that distributed the garlic a bit better. And for the 4-6 heirloom tomatoes, I used a whole handful that I’d picked fresh that day.
All but one of those went into the Ratatouille. And here is a lovely picture of my pan before it was covered with foil and tucked into the oven for baking.
Yum! The herbs were removed after the first round of baking under foil, and by using them this way, they completely permeated everything and combined with the vegetables to make real magic in the oven. Traditional Ratatouille is made on the stove-top, and often times, each vegetable is cooked separately and then they are combined just before serving. I’ve found that oven roasting it is the way to go. First of all, it’s not fussy in the least. But secondly, it makes magic. All you need to go with it is a loaf of good bread to help soak up the juices, and you have the ultimate summer meal. Though, I will freely confess, the kids did not care for it. They don’t like zucchini, and there was so much of it… but they did like the tomato broth and soaked that up with focaccia and enjoyed that. Next time I might consider throwing a portion of Ratatouille in a blender and giving them a pureed soup instead of a stew- that they would eat with gusto.
If you’ve never made Ratatouille, you really must make this. And thank goodness, now I know this recipe is safely ensconced on my blogs, so I will be better able to find it in the future. Next year, there will be eggplant in it as well.
Oven Roasted Ratatouille
2 red or green bell peppers, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 red onion, coarsely chopped
1 large or 3 small eggplants, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 small zucchini or patty pan squash, cut into 1/4-inch slices
4-6 heirloom tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 sprigs of thyme
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 sprigs of tarragon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine all the ingredients in a 9 x 13 baking dish that has been oiled or sprayed with cooking spray. Toss to combine, leaving the sprigs of herbs whole. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
Remove the foil, toss the ratatouille with a spatula and bake for an additional 30 minutes, checking once or twice to see if it needs stirring.
Remove the sprigs of herbs. Check for seasoning, adding additional salt and pepper as necessary.
Serve with warm rolls or rustic bread for mopping up the delicious juices.
Serves 4.