Dinner on the Porch: Ratatouille - enjoying summer's vegetables

The finished Ratatouille after it's baked in the oven for a little over an hour.

To say that I love ratatouille...well, I made the huge pot you see in the picture and although I did share two small containers with some friends, what remained has been feeding me all week. Ratatouille is a wonderful way to highlight the beautiful vegetables of summer - zucchini, eggplant, colorful bell peppers, tomatoes - and it can be eaten as a side dish with any protein. Or if you're a vegetarian, completely on it's own. It is also delicious for breakfast topped with a fried egg, sunny-side-up, and a little grated parmesan cheese.

Ratatouille is very simple to make with the only time consuming part of preparation being the chopping of the vegetables. Once that's completed, it comes together quickly on the stove top and then finishes cooking in the oven.

Ratatouille

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large red onion
5 medium-large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 can tomato paste
3 bell peppers (I use one each of red, yellow & orange)
2 medium zucchini
2 small or 1 large eggplant
6 roma tomatoes or small on-the-vine tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
More salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop all vegetables into 1-2 inch cubes and keep them separated in their own bowls. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the red onion and cook until it begins to soften. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and stir until it coats the onion and garlic. Add the remaining vegetables in order listed and the 1/4 teaspoons of salt and pepper, stirring well after each addition to coat vegetables with the tomato paste.

Once all the veggies are in the pot and have been stirred and coated well with tomato paste, put the lid on the pot and place in the oven. Cook the Ratatouille with the lid on for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, cook uncovered for another 30-45 minutes, until all the vegetables are very tender. At this stage, I am stirring the vegetables every 15 minutes. Finally, add salt and pepper to your preference. All of the natural moisture from the vegetables create a wonderful natural sauce from cooking.

Let the Ratatouille cool completely in the pot before saving in storage containers. Of course you can enjoy a bowl before you do that! It's also great with feta cheese crumbled on top!