Description

Ratatouille is a delicious & healthy side dish from Provence made of baked eggplant, zucchinis, peppers, tomatoes, garlic and onions, seasoned with fragrant Herbes de Provence. The vegetables are robust in flavor, each distinctly seasoned. Each velvety forkful melts in your mouth, offering the beauty of Provence in each bite.

Ingredients

Scale

3 eggplants
3 zucchinis
2 bell peppers (I like to use 1 red and 1 green)
1 large yellow onion
1 large ripe tomato
3 cloves of garlic
28oz can of whole peeled tomatoes
4 tbsps of olive oil
A bouquet garni (thyme, oregano and rosemary - see instructions in post). In the absence of fresh herbs, use 2 tbsps of Herbes de Provence.
Basil and grated parmesan to garnish

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Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Chop all the vegetables into small cubes (about 1/2 an inch) and keep separate. (see below for instruction on how to dice an eggplant)
Prepare your bouquet garni (see above for instructions)
Take the time to sautée each vegetable individually. First sautée the eggplant. Heat 1/2 tbsp of olive oil, add a pinch of salt and sautée until it becomes brown and soft. Remove from pan and set aside.
Repeat the same process for the zucchini and peppers. Add 1/2 a tbsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt to each to new vegetable.
Sautée the zucchini until soft. Remove from pan and set aside.
Next, sautée the peppers until soft. Remove from pan and set aside.
Now, you can use your dutch oven. Place over medium high heat on the cooktop.
Add a tbsp of olive oil then the onions and the garlic and the bouquet garni. Sautée until translucent.
Add in the fresh, diced tomato. Stir and allow to simmer for 2 minutes until the juices come out of the tomato.
Toss in the sautéed eggplant, pepper and zucchini.
Empty the can of peeled tomatoes into the pot. Bring up to a simmer and break up the pieces with your spoon.
Stir, then cover the dutch oven.
Place in the oven on the middle rack.
Cook for 45 minutes with the cover on. Checking once and giving a little stir to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom. You can add an additional 1/2 tbsp of olive oil.
Remove from the oven. Remove the bouquet garni.
Let rest for a half hour. Ratatouille is best served warm, not piping hot.
Bonne Appétit!

Notes

How to dice an eggplant

First, cut the eggplant in half, lengthwise. Then make addition slices all the way down the length of each half. Now, slice strips into the halves, again lengthwise.

Then, slice across width wise in thin strips. It will make little cubes.

A bouquet garni is simply a little bouqet of herbs (thats my kind of bouquet!). By tying fresh herbs together you save yourself trying to fish them out one, by one, when the cooking is done. A bouqet garni can vary with the recipe, depending on the herbs that you would like to use to flavor your dish.

In this recipe we use Provençal herbs to give off that distinctive, South of France flavor. Simply take 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, 2 sprigs of rosemary and 2 sprigs of oregano and tie them together with a little cooking twine.

Voilà! You have a beautiful bouquet garni that will add delicious flavor for your dish and will be easy to remove before serving.