Lazy Ratatouille Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to broil.
• Thickly slice the eggplant, and lay the rounds on cake racks which you've placed in the sink. Salt, very generously, and leave 30 minutes for the excess water to drain off. When they are ready, rinse them well under the tap and pat them dry with a towel.
• While the eggplant drains, put the red and yellow peppers in the oven and broil to blacken the skin on all sides, 20 minutes total. Remove to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit 5 minutes. The skin will now peel off easily. Peel and seed, then slice the flesh to julienne and put it in a large bowl.
• Turn the oven down to 450 degrees F.
• Put some oil on a baking sheet and toss the zucchini slices in it. "Grill" in the oven, turning once, about 10 minutes. Remove, and add to the peppers. Finally, cut the rinsed and dried eggplant into large chunks, toss in oil, and spread on the baking sheet, and "grill" also, about 15 minutes. As things are done, add them to the bowl.
• While the vegetables are in the oven, heat a spoonful of olive oil in a saute pan, and fry the onions until soft. Add the garlic, pepperoncini, bay leaf, and rosemary, and saute 1 minute. Add the tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes until they are very soft and the whole mixture thickly soupy, about 15 minutes.
• Pour the tomato over the vegetables, and toss everything. Check the seasonings. Serve at room temperature with the basil scattered over.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare the vegetables: Smash and peel 3 garlic cloves, reserving the 4th. Halve onions through their roots, and slice halves into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Slice zucchini into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Cut eggplant into 1-inch cubes or spears. Seed peppers, and cut them into 1/4-inch-thick strips.
• Spread each vegetable on a separate rimmed baking sheet (use extra sheets as necessary). Add the 3 cloves of smashed garlic to the onion pan. Add 1 sprig rosemary and 2 sprigs thyme to each of the pepper, eggplant and zucchini pans. Sprinkle salt lightly over vegetables. Drizzle 3 tablespoons olive oil on each of the pans.
• Place all the pans in the oven (or work in batches if they don't fit at once). Cook until vegetables are very tender and lightly browned at the edges. This will take about 35 to 40 minutes for the peppers (their skins should shrivel), 40 to 45 minutes for the eggplant and zucchini (the eggplant should crisp slightly and the zucchini should be well cooked, so let them go 3 to 5 minutes longer than you normally might), and 60 to 65 minutes for the onions. Don't worry about the vegetables being pretty; they will meld into the ratatouille. Shake or stir the pans every 15 to 20 minutes or so, especially the onions.
• In the meantime, prepare the tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add tomatoes and blanch until the skins split, about 10 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to quickly transfer the tomatoes to a bowl filled with ice water.
• Using a paring knife, peel the cooled tomatoes (the skins should slip right off). Halve tomatoes across their equators. Set a sieve over a bowl. Working over the bowl, use your fingers to seed the tomatoes, letting the seeds catch in the sieve and the juice run into the bowl. Discard seeds but save juices. Dice tomatoes and add to the reserved juices in bowl.
• Finely grate or mince remaining garlic clove. Add garlic to tomatoes along with bay leaves and a large pinch of salt. Set aside.
• Once vegetables are done cooking, combine them on one baking sheet or a large shallow baking dish and add ingredients from tomato bowl. Toss well. Vegetables will be stacked, and that's O.K. Cover generously with olive oil, using remaining ¼ cup oil or more, and sprinkle with salt. Everything should have a good coat of oil, but should not be drowning in it. Cook at least 1 hour, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes, until vegetables are very tender and imbued with juices and oil. Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve warm, or let cool.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to broil.
• Place the peppers on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil and slide it under the broiler to char the skins, turning every 3-5 minutes to get a good char on all sides. When the peppers are well charred, put them in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, and let sit 5 minutes; this will make it very easy to slide off the skins. Set the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Remove the skin, seeds and stem from the peppers, reserving any juice in the bowl. Dice the peppers in a ½ inch dice and place in a large bowl with the reserved juices.
• In a separate bowl, mix the Bragg's, Balsamic vinegar and Agave syrup in a 1 gallon plastic storage bag or a large bowl. Whisk to mix thoroughly. This is the vegetable marinade.
• Cut the eggplant, squash, and zucchini in a ½ - ¾ inch dice and toss well in the marinade. Cut the onion into eights, add to the marinade and it all rest for at least 5 minutes.
• Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet. This is to roast the vegetables.
• Slice the tomatoes in half horizontally and use the tip of your knife to remove most of the seeds. Place the tomatoes cut side up on one end of the baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little salt and some pepper. Push the peeled garlic cloves into the seed cavities of the tomatoes to keep them from burning. Tuck the rosemary between the tomatoes.
• Spread the eggplant/zucchini/squash/onion mixture over rest the sheet pan. Slide the pan into the oven and roast for 30 minutes, turning the vegetables (not the tomatoes) with a spatula at the halfway mark. Drizzle with the remaining marinade if they look dry.
• After 30 minutes, put the eggplant/squash/zucchini/ onions in the bowl with the peppers. Put the tomatoes, garlic and the bay leaf into a saucepan over medium heat. Break up the tomatoes with a spoon and remove the skins (they should slide right off). Mash the garlic into the juice. When the tomato juices have reduced, mix thoroughly with the other vegetables. Chiffonade the basil and mix in the ratatouille. Add salt and/or pepper to taste.
• Serve over whole wheat pasta, couscous, or quinoa. As an appetizer, serve on toasted slices of French bread or other bread of choice. Serves 4 as an entrée or 8 as an appetizer.
• Note: I used Japanese eggplant as that is what I was growing on my deck. If you use a standard 'pear-shaped' eggplant, they can be a little bitter. To remove the bitterness, slice into 3/4 inch slices, place on a wire rack over a sheet pan, sprinkle with a good amount of salt, and let rest for 30 minutes. Then rinse with water, dry on tea towels or paper towels, and dice for the recipe.

Steps:

• Dice the aubergine, courgette and pepper into 3cm chunks. Heat the olive oil in a large casserole or deep frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the onion for 10 mins until soft and translucent. Add the chopped veg, turn the heat to high and fry for another 10 mins until softened.
• Stir the garlic into the pan, and toss everything together, frying for 1 min more. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, plus half a can of water (200ml), the dried herbs and the chopped basil. Simmer for 20 minutes on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the veg is tender and the tomatoes are thick and coating the veg. Season and add the vinegar and sugar to balance the sweet and acidity of the tomatoes. Scatter with the basil leaves, and serve with rustic bread, or pasta.

Steps:

• Cut 2 large aubergines in half lengthways. Place them on the board, cut side down, slice in half lengthways again and then across into 1.5cm chunks. Cut the ends off 4 small courgettes, then across into 1.5cm slices.
• Peel 2 red or yellow peppers from stalk to bottom. Hold upright, cut around the stalk, then cut into 3 pieces. Cut away any membrane, then chop into bite-size chunks.
• Score a small cross on the base of each of 4 large ripe tomatoes, then put them into a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over, leave for 20 secs, then remove. Pour the water away, replace the tomatoes and cover with cold water. Leave to cool, then peel the skin away.
• Quarter the tomatoes, scrape away the seeds with a spoon, then roughly chop the flesh.
• Set a sauté pan over medium heat and when hot, pour in 2 tbsp olive oil. Brown the aubergines for 5 mins on each side until the pieces are soft. Set them aside.
• Fry the courgettes in another tbsp oil for 5 mins, until golden on both sides. Repeat with the peppers. Don't overcook the vegetables at this stage.
• Tear up the leaves from the bunch of basil and set aside. Cook 1 thinly sliced medium onion in the pan for 5 minutes. Add 3 crushed garlic cloves and fry for a further minute. Stir in 1 tbsp red wine vinegar and 1 tsp sugar, then tip in the tomatoes and half the basil.
• Return the vegetables to the pan with some salt and pepper and cook for 5 mins. Serve with basil.