So Long, Summer: Roasted Summer Vegetables “Ratatouille” style

 

I’ve mentioned how much adored Ratatouille (the movie, not the dish) – I mean, it’s a movie that appeals to my love of adorable cartoon animals and cooking.  I had been meaning to re-create the beautiful layered ratatouille dish (spoiler alert!) that won over the die hard food critic’s heart since the movie came out in 2007, and since I found this interpretation of it on smitten kitchen. But life, laziness, and lack of all the ingredients kept me from doing so. 

Until tonight. Tonight, I came home and found the eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash that J. brought home from the farmer’s market.  Tonight, no lack of ingredient, overripe tomatoes, or shortage of time was going to stop me. I didn’t bother to consult Deb’s recipe, for fear that I would find I was missing something and would be discouraged.  Instead, I turned up the oven, sliced the vegetables, and got to work.

It turns out that my version is actually not too far off from Deb’s recipe. I roasted the vegetables at a higher temperature in the hope that they would cook faster, which they did. I completely forgot about the tomato puree, which made this dish more simply roasted vegetables rather than ratatouille.  It came out a bit dry, but I didn’t mind.  The tomatoes provided the extra juice that it needed for me.  I also used fresh oregano and basil, which are decidedly more Italian than French.  But I still enjoyed the chance to cook with summer vegetables while they were still in their peak season.

Roasted Vegetables “Ratatouille-style”

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, cut in half lengthwise, and then sliced in 1/4 inch slices
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 yellow squash, sliced
• 1 Italian pepper, sliced (can substitute with bell pepper)
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 3 Tbs olive oil, divided in half
• 2 Tbs finely chopped oregano, divided
• 1 Tbs fresh basil, torn
• dash of red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Slice vegetables into slices about 1/4 inch thick. Drizzle half the olive on the bottom of a roasting pan.  Layer vegetables in the pan.  Drizzle with the rest of the olive oil, and sprinkle 1 Tbs oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste.  Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Sprinkle tomato and remaining herbs.  Drizzle a little extra olive oil and adjust seasonings, if desired.