Ratatouille
An easy recipe for a summer French vegetable dish.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil divided
- 1 medium eggplant
- 2 zucchini
- 1 medium onion
- 1 bell pepper any color
- 3 cloves garlic
- 6 Roma tomatoes
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp basil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Prepare all the veggies before you start cooking. Peel the eggplant and cut it into cubes. Peel the zucchini, slice it, and cut the slices in half. Slice the onion and chop the pepper. Peel the garlic, crush it, and dice it. Chop the tomatoes.
- Place the eggplant in one bowl, the zucchini in another, the tomatoes in another, and the garlic, onion, and pepper in a final bowl.
- Heat about 2 tbsp of olive oil in a deep frying pan over medium high heat.
- Add the eggplant to the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Let cook until soft, stirring occasionally. This takes about 10 minutes. You may need to add a bit more olive oil and/or lower the heat. You are not trying to brown the veggies, just make them soft.
- When the eggplant is cooked, remove it back to its bowl.
- Add more about 2 more tbsp of olive oil to the pan and put in the zucchini. Salt the zucchini lightly.
- Again, cook the zucchini, stirring occasionally, until it is soft. This also takes about 10 minutes. You may also need a bit more oil.
- Removed the cooked zucchini and put it back in its bowl.
- Add a bit more olive oil and the onions, garlic, and pepper. Stir occasionally until soft and the onion is translucent. Do not let this brown. It will take about 8 minutes.
- When the onion mixture is cooked, add the tomatoes on top. Let cook until the tomatoes are soft, about 10 minutes.
- When the tomatoes are cooked, returned the eggplant and zucchini to the pan.
- Sprinkle the veggies with one teaspoon of thyme (I used a bit more) and one teaspoon of basil. Mix. Taste and add salt if necessary. Remember to always add your salt a little at a time. You don't want to overdo it.
- Cook the mixture on low heat until heated through.
- Remove the ratatouille with a slotted spoon and serve.
