Roasted Ratatouille
I was lucky enough to spend some time abroad in Paris when I was in college. I was even luckier to have a truly great homestay family that lived in a beautiful apartment in the 8th arrondissement. My lovely room had an even lovelier balcony overlooking an old church. Maison du Chocolat was just around the corner.
Where my luck ran out was in the culinary skill of my homestay mother. She hated to cook. Although I certainly didn’t starve during my time in Paris, I also can’t remember anything memorable that we ever ate for dinner, except for ratatouille. It was a boil-in-a-bag affair, but it was my first experience with ratatouille and I was smitten. My homestay mother was so pleased that I liked it that she would make it for me several times a week.
Many years later, I’m still a hardcore ratatouille fan. Of course I’ve never seen boil-in-a-bag version in the United States, but making it is still a piece of cake. Seriously, chopping the vegetables is the toughest part. Although I used to make it on the stove top, roasting is now my preferred method. Roasting brings out the natural sweetness of the individual vegetables while they keep their structural integrity; it’s also just a more aesthetically pleasing dish. It’s great dusted with some Parmesan cheese as a side or a hearty vegetarian main dish.
Roasted Ratatouille
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
* 2 large bell peppers (both red or one red and one green), seeded and cut into large chunks
* 3 medium Japanese eggplants, cut into thin slices
* 2 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then cut into thin slices
* 4 medium shallots, cut into large chunks
* 5 Roma tomatoes, cut into large chunks
* olive oil
* salt and pepper
* 10 basil leaves, cut into thin strips (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Spread the vegetables across a large, rimmed cooking sheet. Lightly drizzle olive oil over the vegetables and then season heavily with salt and pepper. Toss to coat each piece evenly. Roast for approximately 45-50 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes or so, or until the edges of the vegetables begin to blacken. Top with basil, if desired.
Welcome! I'm Cate and Girl Cooks World is my recipe journal from my culinary trip around the world. 
I love your site…made so many things that I love cooking and eating and feeding! thank you!
Deborah
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Thanks for such a nice compliment Deborah!
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With the addition of some garlic, I cannot wait to make this (and then figure out a way to bottle the way my house will smell – yum)
:-) Rachel (teacher-chef)
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Garlic always makes things amazing, doesn't it? I'd skipped it this time only because I used shallots (and garlic tends to overpower it a bit :), but I also use a combination of onion and garlic if I don't have shallots around.
Hope you like it!
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See, now that's what makes the difference between a home cook (like me), and a chef (like you). I love ratatouille and make it all the time. I also roast the same medley of veggies all the time, except for the tomatoes. I love both combinations, but I would never have thought to call the roasted veggies, “Roasted Ratatouille”. Clever! Next time I'll throw in the tomatoes, and voila. :) I agree, roasting really brings out their flavor. The stovetop method is more stew-like, probably better on cooler fall evenings.
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Thanks Heather! But I'm definitely still very much in the home cook category as well :) I've been making a batch of this almost every week to take advantage of the summer produce. So so good!
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