Ratatouille – Learn how to cook this classic French stewed vegetables recipe
INGREDIENTS
• 1 large onion, cut into medium-sized pieces
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 yellow squash, cut into medium-sized pieces
• 2 zucchinis, cut into medium-sized pieces
• 1 eggplant, cut into medium-sized pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, roasted and skinned, then cut into medium-sized pieces
• 1 yellow bell pepper, roasted and skinned, then cut into medium-sized pieces
• 5 tomatoes, deseeded and cut into medium-sized pieces
• 1 Tablespoon herbes de Provence
• Olive oil, about 6 Tablespoons
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1-2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• ¼-½ teaspoon pepper, or to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 F and roast bell peppers for 20-30 minutes on a baking sheet
2. Allow bell peppers to cool and remove the skins, char over open flame to aid in peeling the skins if needed. This helps aid in digestion of the bell peppers.
3. Cut the zucchinis, squash and eggplant into medium-sized chunks
4. Drizzle olive oil on a baking sheet, place the vegetables down, coat with more olive oil, then generously season with salt and pepper
5. Mixed vegetables together and roast in a 375 F oven for 30 minutes, then set aside
6. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes but keep the tomato juice. Do this by straining the seeds over a bowl. You may need to squeeze the seeds to get all the juice out.
7. Cut the de-seeded tomatoes into medium-sized pieces and add to the bowl with the juice
8. Dice the onion and mince the garlic
9. Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat, add olive oil and cook the onions until they are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes
10. Add garlic, stir and cook another 3 minutes
11. Add the zucchini, squash, eggplant, tomatoes and tomato juice, stir
12. Add herbes de Provence and stir
13. Partially cover the Dutch oven, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour
14. Optional step: Put ratatouille in refrigerator overnight to allow flavors to meld together
15. Just prior to serving, add 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper, or adjust to taste
16. Serve warm
Note: This is a slightly modified version of the following recipe: