ProvençaL RATATOUILLE
Ratatouille is not just the name of a movie. It is actually one of the most delicious vegetable dishes you will ever eat. Ratatouille is a slow cooked, French, summer vegetable stew that is so good, you can eat it as a main course. While it may seem tedious to cook each vegetable separately, before combining into a larger pot, it makes all the difference and honestly, it takes minutes. Most of the cooking is done in the oven which means that after 10 minutes or so of active work at the beginning, there isn’t much for you to do. Though this dish cooks for almost 2 hours, none of the vegetables end up soggy, overcooked or unrecognizable. They all taste bright and vibrant and extremely, crazy delicious. Serve this with rice, pasta or French bread, some brie and a glass of rosé.
Ingredients
2 red bell peppers
1 yellow bell pepper
1 medium sized eggplant
1 zucchini
1 summer squash (yellow zucchini)
3 medium sized ripe tomatoes
2 medium onions
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1 stalk rosemary
2-3 stalks of basil plus more for garnish
4-5 sprigs of thyme
4-5 sprigs parsley
6 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried Herbs de Provençe (you can omit if you can’t find it)
Sea salt
Pepper
Method
1. Cut peppers, eggplant, zucchini and summer squash into 1 inch chunks. Set aside but keep them separated on a tray - don’t mix them together.
2. Slice onions into wedges and thinly slice garlic. Set aside.
3. Make an X with a knife in the bottom of each tomato and submerge in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove to a bowl with ice water. This will loosen the skins. Peel and discard the tomato skins. Chop tomatoes into chunks. Set aside.
4. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a non stick pan and place a large heavy bottomed pot (like an enamelled cast iron dutch oven) nearby.
5. Add eggplant to the non stick pan and sauté on medium high heat until the eggplant takes on some colour. You don’t want it to be cooked. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and remove from the frying pan and into the large pot.
6. Add 2 tbsp olive oil to the pan. Sauté zucchini and summer squash the same way - just until they take on some colour. Season with salt and pepper and remove to the large pot with the eggplant.
7. Add 2 tbsp olive oil to the pan. Add bell peppers and onions and season with salt, pepper and Herbs de Provençe. Sauté 2-3 minutes until the onions start to take on some colour. Remove to the large pot with the other veg.
8. Add tomatoes, garlic, tomato paste to the pot with the vegetables. Tie all herbs together with some kitchen twine and nestle it into the vegetables. Add two bay leaves.
9. Place a circle of parchment paper, with a hole in the middle, on top of the vegetables, pressing down so the parchment is flush with the top of the vegetables - see photo. This will act as a lid. Don’t put the pot lid on top. Turn the burner on medium and bring the mixture to a low boil. When you see steam coming up from under the parchment lid, place the pot into a preheated 350 degree oven.
10. Bake for 90 minutes. Remove from the oven and discard the parchment paper lid, bay leaves and the herb bundle.
11. Let sit 30 minutes.
12. Stir the ratatouille gently and top with chopped parsley and basil. Drizzle with olive oil and add some flaky salt if you have it.