Ratatouille Recipe

A Favorite French Vegetable Dish

Make this Ratatouille Recipe a Family Favorite

I love trying dishes from different cultures, which brought me to this ratatouille recipe. I feel a little pigeonholed in the knowledge I had of food growing up on the basic American diet. To be fair to my mom, she did have 5 kids to feed, so simple and bulk was the way to go. I didn’t know that bell peppers came in different colors until I moved to London when I was in my mid 20’s. Honestly, it was like a vegetarian’s dream moving to London.

That’s where my diet really changed. The way food was represented, presented, and priced opened me up to limitless possibilities of flavor combination. And honestly, with less preservatives in my diet my stomach functioned a lot less painfully.

This was also the time that eggplant, or aubergine, came into my vocabulary. It’s such a pretty vegetable. The color alone brightens up any dish (except baba ganoush). This ratatouille recipe is full of colors, eggplant, squash, fresh basil, tomatoes. The flavor is just as bright as the colors. The only question, how do you cook eggplant?

The first time I had eggplant, it was stuffed with some sort of meat mixture. This is something I’ve had to deal with my entire life, eat around the meat. So I did so, quite poorly and tried my best not to upset my host.

This ratatouille recipe takes 1 hour and 15 minutes. The majority of that time is the cook time (50 minutes), with the remainder being the prep time. The eggplant requires to be drained of liquid, a simple process, and you don’t have to do much.

Ratatouille

• 2 medium eggplants (cut into 1/2″ cubes)
• Kosher salt
• 1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion (chopped)
• 8 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bell pepper (seeds and stem removed, chopped)
• 2 small zucchinis (cut into 1/2″ cubes)
• 1 t chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 T fresh thyme leaves
• 1 beefsteak tomato (diced)
• 1 t granulated sugar
• 1 c canned crushed tomatoes
• 10 fresh basil leaves (thinly sliced, plus more for serving)

Prep Eggplant

1. Double up a colander and a bowl. Place eggplant in colander with 1 t of salt and sit for 30 min.
2. After 30 minutes, squeeze off excess moisture and pat dry with paper towels.

Onion Mixture

1. In a large pot over medium heat, add 1 T olive oil then add onion and 2 chopped garlic cloves.
2. Season with ¼ t salt and ¼ t pepper. Stir occasionally until onions are translucent, about 5-6 minutes.
3. Add bell pepper and continue cooking until softened, about 6-7 minutes. Stir occasionally.
4. Transfer to large bowl.

Zucchini

1. Use the same pot to heat an additional 1 T olive oil. Add zucchini, rosemary and 2 chopped garlic cloves.
2. Season with ¼ t salt and ¼ t pepper.
3. Stir often, until zucchini softens and turns golden, about 8 minutes.
4. Transfer zucchini into bowl with onion mixture.
   

Eggplant

1. Use the same pot to heat an additional 1 T olive oil. Add eggplant, thyme, and 2 chopped garlic cloves.
2. Stir often, until eggplant turns golden and translucent, about 8 minutes.
3. Transfer eggplant into bowl with onions and zucchini.

Diced Tomatoes

1. Use the same pot to heat an additional 1 T olive oil. Add diced tomatoes, sugar, remaining garlic, ¼ t salt and ¼ t pepper.
2. Stir often, until tomatoes begin to break down and caramelize, about 6-8 minutes.

Ratatouille

1. Add crushed tomatoes to diced tomato pot, along with sliced basil.
2. Add eggplant, onions, and zucchini to pot.
3. Bring to simmer. Stir occasionally.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer until vegetable textures melt together, about 8-10 minutes.

Serve

1. Top with more basil.
2. Goes great with sourdough bread.
   

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Frequently Asked Questions About Eggplant