Simple Ratatouille

Ratatouille up close

I bought an organic eggplant the other day.  It was just so beautiful sitting in the produce section…  fat, plump, and purple…  I just couldn’t resist.  So I brought that baby home and then realized…  I’ve never cooked eggplant before!  I had no idea what to do with it.  :O

So…  scouring one of my favorite websites, Pinterest, I discovered that it could be used in ratatouille!  Awesome.  I liked the movie with the rat, so why not?  😉  In fact, I had never even heard of this dish until that movie…  so you never know what enlightening things you can learn from watching cartoons.  😉  

A few simple ingredients

I looked at several recipes and found the one from World Lifestyle that seemed easiest for me to make.  The layering looks really pretty and was actually quite easy to do.  At first, I tried to use my mandolin to cut the slices, but it kind of tore my eggplant, so then I resorted to my new Depot knife–which turned out quite well.  🙂

Sliced eggplant and zucchini… so proud of my knife skills (for once)!

Tomato sauce at the bottom of the dish

I didn’t have any fresh thyme, so I just used dry ones, and the finished dish turned out just fine.  My eggplant wasn’t that narrow, so I ended up cutting some of the fatter pieces in half.  My organic tomatoes were kind of small and didn’t make enough tomato slices to alternate zucchini, eggplant, and tomato, so I also sliced some of them in half again, just to have the proper layering effect.  😉

Everything arranged and ready to pop into the oven

Laid foil on top to prevent burning

End result was tender with a bit of spicy kick (dunno where that came from…  perhaps the garlic?), but still al dente.  I liked the dish hot from the oven, and it was also quite nice after the flavors had set up for a bit and melded together.  Definitely got my daily servings of veggies in for today.  😉

Simple Ratatouille
Serves 4

Finished ratatouille fresh from the oven!

Ingredients:

• 1 long, narrow eggplant
• 1 medium zucchini
• 2 medium heirloom tomatoes
• 2 sprigs thyme, leaves only
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup (63 g) tomato purée
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Slice the eggplant and zucchini in thin round slices.  Salt generously and set into a colander.  Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.  Rinse and squeeze out the excess moisture.
2. Cut the tomato in thin slices.
3. Pour the tomato purée into the bottom of a casserole dish.  Alternate the eggplant, zucchini, and tomato slices into the dish, working your way around.  Top with garlic and thyme leaves and a brief drizzle of olive oil.  Cover with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit.  (I used foil.)
4. Bake in a preheated 350°F (177°C) degree Fahrenheit oven for 45 minutes.  Remove the parchment paper and continue baking until the vegetables are tender and beginning to caramelize.  (I baked it for another 30 minutes.)

122 calories, 14g carbohydrates, 8g fat, 3g protein, 136mg sodium, 7g sugar