Cream of the Crop Recipe Week 6: Weeknight Ratatouille

Weeknight Ratatouille

By: Margaux Pisciotta

Prep Time: 10 minutes  Total Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ratatouille is familiar to all of us these days thanks to the popular Pixar movie, but has its origins in Southern France. It is considered to be comforting and cozy, using up the best of summer harvest. This version aims to cut down on active cook time by swapping stovetop sautéing with oven roasting. This recipe is flexible so feel free to use as much or as little of each ingredient as you wish or whatever you have on hand. I like to serve mine with warm crusty bread to soak up all the sauce. 

 Ingredients: 

• Zucchini
• Yellow Squash
• Tomatoes
• Bell Pepper
• Onion
• Tomato Paste
• Olive Oil
• Thyme
• Bay Leaves
• Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
2. Chop zucchini, eggplant, squash, and bell pepper into 1 inch cubes. It’s important to keep all your veggies to roughly the same size so they roast evenly in the oven. Place on your baking sheet and drizzle on a generous amount of olive oil. 
3. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until caramelized. If you’re avoiding turning your oven on in the heat wave, you certainly have the option to sauté vegetables individually on the stove top, but this will take longer. 
4. While your vegetables are roasting in the oven, dice your onion and tomato. 
5. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a dutch oven or large pan and heat on medium. Add onion and allow to cook until translucent. 
6. Add 1 tbsp tomato paste to the pan and cook until color has darkened and oil has turned orange. 
7. Then, add fresh tomatoes, whole thyme stalks, bay leaves, and ½ cup of water to the pan. Cook until tomatoes have softened and you can crush them with your spoon, approximately 10 minutes.
8. By this point, your roasted vegetables should be finished in the oven and caramelized. Add in roasted vegetables and season to taste. Allow to simmer all together on low heat with the lid on for 20 minutes. 
9. Taste for salt again. Then, pull the thyme and bay leaves from the stew and serve. Bon Appetit! 

Tip 1: This is also a great recipe to throw in some of those extra greens you have lying around, whether its carrot tops, kale, or even collard greens. Chop them up finely and throw them in the pan during the last 5-10 minutes of simmer time. It adds a great nutrition boost and you won’t even know they’re there! 

——————————————————————————-

About Margaux

Margaux is a veterinary technician and long-time Westsider. She draws inspirations from her Belgian and Italian heritage with recipes that resemble those passed down by mother and grandmother.

——————————————————————————-