Roasted California Ratatouille
A California twist to the classic ratatouille. This version roasts the veggies maintaining their shape and texture. The key is to cook them until they are just done and not falling apart. Make ahead and serve at room temperature for lunch or dinner. Left overs go well with breakfast eggs.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes
4 servings
Ingredients
2 red bell peppers, cored, and cut into 1/2-inchwide pieces
1 medium eggplant (about 1 lb.), peeled if desired and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 onions, cut into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
3 small summer squash cut into ¼ inch slices
5 whole cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup extra-virgin California olive oil; more as needed
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
½ tsp dried oregano
1 tsp. Kosher salt
½ tsp. black pepper
1 pound cherry tomatoes, whole or cut in half
Directions
Position the racks in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F.
In a large mixing bowl, toss the onions, peppers, eggplant, summer squash, garlic, olive oil, rosemary, black pepper, and kosher salt. Spread the vegetables evenly over a large rimmed baking sheets. Don’t spread the vegetables too thin or they may burn
Roast, stir the vegetables every 10-12 minutes,
Roast the for 30 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and continue to roast until the tomatoes soften and shrink another 30 minutes and the vegetables begin to shrivel and are starting to slightly brown, and very tender, Test by using a paring knife, the knife should easily penetrate to veggies
Scrape all the vegetables and any juices into a serving bowl.
Serve warm or room temperature
Make it your own
Use zucchini and other multi-colored summer squash, step 2
Substitute a red onion for the white onion, step 2
Use small sweet peppers instead of the bell pepper, step 2
Increase whole peeled garlic cloves to 10-15, step 2
Add 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes for a little spice, step 2
Mix in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped fresh basil, step 6
Substitute 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary for the dried rosemary, step 2