There are many ways to make Ratatouille. I believe this way of roasting the eggplants and zucchini in the oven is much easier than cooking the whole dish on the stovetop. I enjoy serving this over toast with a sunny side egg on top.
Ratatouille
Servingsservings
Prep timeminutes
Cooking timeminutes
Calorieskcal
Ingredients
2 medium eggplants, diced into 1 – 1.5″ cubes
3 medium zucchini, diced into 1 inch wedges
Kosher salt
2 TBSP olive oil
2 onions, sliced
2 red bell peppers, cut into wedges
6 garlic cloves, minced
15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes (or 3 chopped fresh tomatoes)
1 bay leaf
Freshly ground black pepper
2 TBSP lemon juice and more to taste
Fresh herbs, such as parsley, green onions, basil, thyme
Directions
- Combine zucchini and eggplant in a large colander. Season liberally with kosher salt. Not only will it season the vegetables nicely, it will make them release their liquid and brown better in the oven.
- I prefer roasting my red peppers for deeper smokier flavour. Preheat the broiler to high . Place whole peppers on a baking sheet and move them under the broiler, as close as possible to it. Roast them for 7-9 minutes turning frequently to make sure all the sides are charred. Remove to a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap (ensure it’s not touching the hot peppers.) Let them sit for a few minutes as the steam will loosen the skin, making it easy to remove.
- Preheat the oven to 450F. Grease 2 baking sheets with some oil. Dry zucchini and eggplant with paper towels and toss with about a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Divide between the prepared baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven, stirring periodically, for about 45 minutes until tender and starting to brown. You may even broil at the end for a minute or two for extra smokiness and flavour.
- In the meantime, heat 1 TBSP olive oil in a large pan. Add onions and cook over medium heat for about 7 minutes until softened but not browned. Add bell peppers and cook them for about 5 minutes if fresh. If you roasted them in step 2, you can immediately move on to the next step and not cook them longer.
- Add garlic and sauté for about 20 seconds. Add bay leaf and tomatoes with their juices. Simmer for about 5 minutes until softened. Carefully remove zucchini and eggplant from the oven and stir it into the pan with tomatoes. You can simmer the whole dish for as little as 5 minutes and for as long as 40 minutes, stirring often, depending on how broken down you want your veggies to be (I personally like mine quite broken down.) Remove bay leaf. Season well with salt and pepper and stir in lemon juice. Serve with fresh herbs.
