CSA Week 9 - July 29th - ratatouille

 

What a beautiful thing it was to use so many CSA vegetables in one dish.

This recipe came courtesy of Anne and is originally from The Hungry Student Cookbook (I think the link is for the correct one). My slight adaptation using CSA offerings is below. I encourage further adaptations; this was just my first crack at it.

It reminded me ever so slightly of goulash. The peppers tasted like roasted red peppers (because they were) and the whole dish was fragrant, rich, and satisfying.

We, of course, had to follow this meal by watching the movie, Ratatouille.

Ratatouille

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup olive oil (not extra virgin) or cooking oil (canola, safflower, peanut, etc.). I wonder about going a little easier on the oil, though it does help to make it delicious. Update 9/23/15: I trimmed down the amount of oil by about 1/3 successfully, using about 3 tbsp. to roast the veggies and about 2 tbsp. with the onion.
• 2+ Oriental eggplants (I only had one-and-a-half, but I think more would be good), cut into 1/2" slices
• 2-3 zucchini or summer squash, cut into 1/2" slices. Fat portions of summer squash will need to be halved or quartered lengthwise)
• 3 sweet red peppers (I used 1 large "Carmen" and 2 smaller "Lipstick"), cored, seeded, and cut into squares
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large slicing tomato plus more if you like (I also used 4 saladette tomatoes), chopped
• About 12 basil leaves, chopped. Update 9/23/15: I successfully used about 2 tsp. dried basil in place of fresh. 
• 1 tsp. dried marjoram leaf, ground (1 tbsp. fresh)
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaf, ground (1 tsp. fresh)
• 1 tbsp. paprika
• 3 tbsp. finely chopped parsley, divided (1 tbsp. dried) 
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. (?) sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 F. Heat half the oil in a roasting pan or baking sheet in the oven. Add the eggplants, squashes, and peppers, and toss in the hot oil. Return to the oven and roast for about 20 minutes, or until tender.

Update 9/23/15: If you're using dried herbs grind them all together in a mortar and pestle to release their flavors before adding them to the ratatouille. You can add the salt and sugar with the herbs to help grind them up.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a deep saucepan, add the onions, and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, just until softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, but not browned. Add the tomatoes, herbs (reserving 1 tbsp. parsley), paprika, salt, and sugar. Stir to combine, then cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and syrupy. 

Transfer the vegetables to the onion/tomato mixture. Gently stir to combine and heat through. Update 9/23/15: Allow the mixture to cook on low heat for 10 minutes or so for the flavors to meld with the roasted veggies. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve with crusty bread.