Ratatouille
Prep 15 mins Cook 35 mins Eat 45 mins
It’s that time of summer when your garden and the farmers markets are overflowing with tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, basil and more, so put it all to work in this French summer stew, Ratatouille. Ratatouille is a peasant dish, so no reason to get fancy here. Flavor is the most important factor. Top Bleu Cheese Stuffed Burgers with this Ratatouille for a real treat…OR fish OR chicken OR just by itself!!! This recipe makes a lot so you can enjoy it a few ways.
Mike starts the recipe with the sliced onions in a covered skillet. Go LOW and SLOW.
Most ratatouille recipes call for all the ingredients to go into one pot, but I have found that the stew has a way better flavor when each vegetable is cooked separately and mixed together at the end. You can make this ratatouille on the grill OR you can dice up the vegetables and put on a sheet pan and roast them in a 400° oven. I like using the grill AND the oven AND the cooktop to save time. See how below.
The sliced onions can cook in a covered skillet on the cooktop with some olive oil low and slow for as long as it takes for everything else to get ready. Just give them a stir now and then.
Grill globe eggplant and zucchini strips to get added flavor.
My gas grill gets a real workout during summer and for this recipe, I cook as much as I can on the grill like the red peppers, eggplant and zucchini.
Chris and Shetara grill enough vegetables to feed 20 in our Cooking Outdoors class.
If you want to make this dish in a flash, use the grill. I like to grill the red peppers in advance and let them steam in a plastic bag while I’m cooking everything else, but let your time available be the judge.
Roast grape tomatoes and mushrooms in the oven in only 15 minutes.
I’ve also discovered that using small grape or cherry tomatoes speeds things along, as I can put them on a sheet pan in the oven with the mushrooms in about a second and let them roast for about 15 minutes, while my hands can be doing other things.
Ratatouille ingredients are married together for the final step.
Once all the vegetables are cooked and diced, Mix them together in a pot with the onions.
Ratatouille gets the final stir with fresh herbs.
Add the herbs, give a mix and serve. You will have a lot of ratatouille to go on top of your Bleu Cheese stuffed Burgers, some fish, chicken or just by itself.
French Ratatouille is fresh, colorful and healthy.
This recipe makes a lot so you will enjoy it on everything for a few days, but Ah, the Bleu Cheese Stuffed Burger that we made in our Cooking Outdoors class is legendary in my mind! (Recipe coming soon!) Like all stews, Ratatouille gets better with age.
Ratatouille
3 red peppers
2 globe eggplants, sliced
4 zucchini, sliced
4 cups grape tomatoes
8 ounces mushrooms (preferably brown ones)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt and pepper to taste
3 medium onions, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
2 Tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1. Place red peppers on grill and roast until all sides are blackened and blistered. Place in a plastic bag, close it to steam and let sit for at least 15 minutes. After steaming, remove skin, stem and seeds and dice. Learn how to roast a red pepper here.
2. In a skillet, add onions with 2 Tablespoons olive oil on low heat, cover and cook on medium low heat until translucent or longer to caramelize. Stir occasionally and cook until you combine all ingredients together. Add more olive oil if necessary to prevent burning.
3. Grill method: Slice eggplant and zucchini in strips and place on sheet pan. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil, kosher salt and pepper and toss to coat all vegetables. Place vegetables on medium heat grill. Cook until grill marks form on vegetables. In a separate grill pan, add grape tomatoes and mushrooms and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill until tomatoes are blistered and begin to shrivel. Dice eggplant and zucchini into 1/2″ pieces
4. Oven method: Preheat oven to 400°. Dice eggplant and zucchini in 1/2″ pieces and place eggplant on one sheet pan and zucchini with grape tomatoes and mushrooms on another. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper over vegetables. Toss to coat. Roast the eggplant for 30 minutes and the zucchini tray for 15-20 minutes, just until the tomatoes are wilted. Half way during the cooking process, flip vegetables over.
5. When vegetables have roasted, dice them and slice mushrooms. Add minced garlic to skillet with onion, cook for 2 minutes. Add vegetables to skillet and cook for 5-10 minutes. Add parsley, thyme, oregano and basil and serve. Can be made a day in advance.
Servings: 12 – 151 calories per serving
Ratatouille
Ingredients
- 3 red peppers
- 2 globe eggplants sliced
- 4 zucchini sliced
- 4 cups grape tomatoes
- 8 ounces mushrooms preferably brown ones
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 3 medium onions sliced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup parsley finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons fresh basil leaves chiffonade
- 2 Tablespoons fresh oregano leaves finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- Place red peppers on grill and roast until all sides are blackened and blistered. Place in a plastic bag, close it to steam and let sit for at least 15 minutes. After steaming, remove skin, stem and seeds and dice. Learn how to roast a red pepper here.
- In a skillet, add onions with 2 Tablespoons olive oil on low heat, cover and cook on medium low heat until translucent or longer to caramelize. Stir occasionally and cook until you combine all ingredients together. Add more olive oil if necessary to prevent burning.
- Grill method: Slice eggplant and zucchini in strips and place on sheet pan. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil, kosher salt and pepper and toss to coat all vegetables. Place vegetables on medium heat grill. Cook until grill marks form on vegetables. In a separate grill pan, add grape tomatoes and mushrooms and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill until tomatoes are blistered and begin to shrivel. Dice eggplant and zucchini into 1/2" pieces
- Oven method: Preheat oven to 400°. Dice eggplant and zucchini in 1/2" pieces and place eggplant on one sheet pan and zucchini with grape tomatoes and mushrooms on another. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper over vegetables. Toss to coat. Roast the eggplant for 30 minutes and the zucchini tray for 15-20 minutes, just until the tomatoes are wilted. Half way during the cooking process, flip vegetables over.
- When vegetables have roasted, dice them and slice mushrooms. Add minced garlic to skillet with onion, cook for 2 minutes. Add vegetables to skillet and cook for 5-10 minutes. Add parsley, thyme, oregano and basil and serve. Can be made a day in advance.
- Servings: 12 - 151 calories per serving
- ENJOY THIS RECIPE FROM FreshFoodinaFlash.com
That is beautiful and knowing you, very delicious.
It is outrageously good, but wait until you see my Bleu Cheese Stuffed Burger with this on top of it. Coming next!
It is outrageously good, but wait until you see my Bleu Cheese Stuffed Burger with this on top of it. Coming next!