Ratatouille – versatile vegetable stew

Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a vegetable stew of French origin consisting of a combination of flavorsome, colorful, basic vegetables with a touch of herbs, salt, and pepper.

This versatile dish is easy to make, can be kept in the fridge, and is another of my favorite, make-ahead dishes. Serve as a vegetable, over pasta, or as an entrée. It is delicious served hot or cold as a light meal with lentils and cottage- or goats milk cheese.

There are various ways of making ratatouille: sautéing while adding the ingredients gradually, sautéing each individual vegetable separately, or even layering the vegetables and baking them in the oven.

Mushrooms are not considered a traditional ingredient. Add vegetables that are in season and appeal to your personal taste!

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Ratatouille

A versatile dish that can be classified as a vegetable stew.

Ingredients

• 1-2 eggplants (also known as aubergine or brinjal), cubed, with or without peel
• salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, thickly sliced
• 4-6 zucchini (also known as courgette), thickly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed
• 6-8 ounces mushrooms, halved or quartered
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 14½-ounce can diced tomato
• 1½ teaspoons dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
• freshly ground black pepper
  
• Steps 1-2 optional – see Notes.

Instructions

1. Put the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle liberally with salt. Set aside for 30-45 minutes to sweat .
2. Rinse well and pat dry.
3. Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the onion and eggplant until the onion is just starting to brown.
4. Add the zucchini, garlic, mushroom and pepper and continue stirring over medium to high heat for 5-10 minutes.
5. Add the tomato and remaining ingredients.
6. Mix well, cover and simmer until just cooked through—about 20 minutes.

Notes

The tendency today is not to salt and sweat the eggplant before cooking, a procedure that removes bitter-tasting juices. Generally the varieties of eggplant available now are seldom bitter, especially when fresh and firm to the touch.

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