Ratatouille is the ultimate recipe to make the most of our local grower’s markets and home vegetable gardens. This eggplant dish can be seasonally altered to what’s available all year, too! I suggest salting your eggplant in advance of preparation to remove the bitterness from the seeds. Eggplant comes from the same family as tobacco and contains nicotinoid alkaloids – salting helps eliminate the bitterness and prevents the eggplant from soaking up too much oil and making it greasy. For my Ratatouille dish, I also like to add black olives and capers; not traditional but it adds a depth of flavor I really enjoy! This super- simple recipe is a great way to enjoy all the different vegetables you have available. After cooking them separately, you will simply combine them together in an oven-proof dish and bake for an extra 15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Simple and delicious!
Ratatouille Recipe
olive oil
2 globe eggplant – cut in half and salted for 1/2 hour; rinsed and cut into large cubes
1 zucchini cut into large cubes
1 summer yellow squash cut into large cubes
1 large onion cut into large pieces
3 Large Red tomatoes- peeled
*1 Red Bell Pepper – Roasted and peeled
3 cloves garlic – sliced
1 bunch basil – chiffonade cut
*1/2 cup Nicoise Olives (if you leave the pits in – warn your guests!)
*2 Tablespoons Salted Capers – rinsed well
* Optional ingredients
Warm some olive oil in a large pan and cook the onions and garlic until fragrant and just browning. Remove the vegetables by using a slotted spoon to leave the oil in pan. Reserve.
Cook the zucchini and yellow squash until just starting to brown. Add the roasted and peeled red bell pepper if using. Cook 5 minutes and remove from the pan and reserve.
Add more olive oil if necessary and cook the eggplant. When the eggplant has a nice brown color to it, add fresh or canned tomatoes and cook until softened slightly.
Add the olives and capers and cook for a few minutes more.
Add all the vegetables back to the pan and mix gently.
Place the Ratatouille into an ovenproof dish and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes to marry the flavors.
Garnish with chiffonade of basil and a generous drizzle of olive oil. This dish will be enjoyed hot or at room temperature.
To make this into an entree, fill baked puff pastry shells with the Ratatouille and serve with a pea puree on the plate.
Happy Cooking Everyone!
Constance Jesser is owner of the Jacksonville Mercantile and a professionally-trained chef. She can be reached at 541-899-1047 or www.jacksonvillemercantile.com.