Ratatouille
Course: VegetarianCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes45
minutesI love this recipe so much. I would make this all the time when my kids were young and puree it and serve mixed inter baby food and then as a pasta sauce or hidden in meatloaf. You can’t go wrong with how healthy this is and what a delicious meal it makes. The best part is this is best made the day before and makes a delicious main served over polenta or noodles. It also is a perfect side dish to pair with any meat dish. We have a few friends, that one of the people in the couple is a vegetarian and the other is a meat eater so this dish is perfect as both parties eat well and no one is left out. My kids eat this and love it.
If you have leftovers, add it to an omelette or scramble or puree it and add chicken broth for a quick soup or sauce for roasted chicken. You can be very creative.
Ingredients
2 medium eggplant, 1lb
3 zucchini
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
2 red onions, chopped
3 bell peppers, seeded and diced (2 red and 1 green)
5 cloves garlic, chopped and divided
2 can of diced tomatoes or 1 large can
2 tablespoon tomato paste
3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
3 fresh thyme sprigs
8 fresh basil leaves, snipped into thin shreds
Directions
- Cube the eggplant and slice the zucchini. Sprinkle with salt and allow to sit for 30 minutes, pat dry the vegetables.
- In a pan, drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers and half the garlic and saute until softened about 7 minutes. Transfer to a large Dutch oven.
- In the same pan, add 2 Tablespoons olive oil, add the eggplant and saute until lightly browned about 7 minutes. Add to the Dutch Oven and repeat with the zucchini. Transfer to the Dutch oven.
- Add the remaining garlic, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, thyme and basil and season with salt and pepper. Place over medium high heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated about 20-30 minutes.
- Remove from heat, taste season and serve hot or cold. Can be made ahead 1 day ahead.
