Do you have vegetable overload in your fridge from your garden or CSA membership? Things like eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes? Maybe even some carrots, and onions? Peppers too? Well, I’ve got good news for you or I should say a good recipe for you!
This was outstanding! Curiously enough though, it was just ok on day one and out of this world on day two. And so, what I suggest is to put it together over the weekend and then reheat for dinner during the week. Why the weekend you ask? Well, this recipe calls for baking on low (280 degrees) for 3 hours – but don’t worry, since it’s mostly hands off time and is well worth it because you will want to eat lots of these veggies.
The dish has a puree of onions, celery, carrots and peppers on the bottom that is topped by thin slices of zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, and yellow squash, which is then drizzled with thyme, garlic, and olive oil
Yes, I’ll be making this one again really soon. Summertime in a pan.
Adapted from Bruno’s Kitchen
Slow roasted ratatouille
Ingredients
For the puree
- 1 onion , chopped
- 2 carrots , chopped
- 2 celery stalks , chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic , minced
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 poblano pepper and 2 chili peppers
- 1 can (28 oz) of crushed tomatoes
- handful basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon herb de Provance
For the sliced vegetables
- 2 Japanese eggplants , sliced thinly
- 6 Roma tomatoes , sliced thinly
- 2 yellow squash , sliced thinly
- 2 green zucchini , sliced thinly
For the topping
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon thyme leaves , chopped (I used dried but fresh would be better)
- salt and pepper
Instructions
For the puree
- Add oil to a large saute pan and then add and cook the onion, celery, carrots and garlic over medium heat until softened (until a fork can be easily inserted into the carrots)
- In the meantime, char the peppers under the broiler or on an outdoor grill until charred on all sides (rotate to blacken all sides) (see this post)
- Place the charred peppers in a bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap or in a ziploc bag until cooled, then peel off skins
- Add softened vegetables (carrot, celery, onion, garlic), canned tomatoes, peppers, basil, herbs and salt/pepper to blender and puree the mixture
To prepare the dish for baking
- Preheat oven to 280 degrees
- Spread the puree on the bottom of an oven safe skillet or tart pan and then arrange the sliced eggplant, tomatoes and zucchini in a swirl fashion on top
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Combine the olive oil, garlic and thyme and then drizzle on top of vegetables
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 3 hours
- At this point, it is recommended to refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to marry and mingle
- To serve, heat oven to 350 degrees and bake uncovered for 45 minutes (if cold) or 20 minutes or warm/hot
Nutrition
Paige says
I have made this recipe three or four times and it is amazing EVERY time. It’s so delicious and hearty and the leftovers are alway wonderful. Thanks for this great dish!
Plgriffin says
Delicious. Made this recipe for a party. Everyone raved and asked for the recipe. It is a bit time consuming to make, but not difficult. I will definitely make again.
Theresa petterez says
Made this for a dinner party was a huge success use the leftovers over spaghetti noodles delicious and healthy
Jamie says
What simply beautiful plate! A must try 🙂
Mike D says
What type of pan can/should I use? Cast iron, non stick stainless steel etc. Thank you!
Marie says
Hi Mike – I don’t think it matters? whatever you like to bake/cook with should be fine
Renee says
I made this last weekend and left it for a day to marinate (as suggested)…it was phenomenal. Slow roasting is definitely the way to go. We ate more the next day and it tasted EVEN better than the day before. Wonderful recipe with perfectly detailed directions and lovely photos. Thank you so much!
kelly says
I have so much eggplant and squash left over! WhAt size dish should I use?? Just put it all together in a 9×9 pan
Marie says
Hi Kelly – hard to say because it will vary depending on size of your vegetables. You can probably just layer it looser to get less in or tighter to fit more and if you have too much left over, maybe use it in a quiche or frittata? I love eggplant as a pizza topping and squash in minestrone soup!
kelly says
This was fantastic!!!! I have tried a ratatouille before and signed the dish off as a mediocre side dish only. I am so glad I found your site and this recipe. It’s so light yet surprisingly hearty– main delicious dish all the way. Thank you so much! Definitely adding to the recipe book! Yay!!
Carly says
I made this Sunday afternoon. So easy to put together, and great to sit and read while the scent of my tasty roasted dinner wafted by! Though I took it out too early, I scooped a little extra out before returning the dish to the oven! It is so delicious, I ate myself sick.
I was bummed when I got home from the store to see I’d forgotten a red pepper. If it tasted this good without the pepper, I can’t wait to try it with it. Last night (and tonight) I served it with naan dipped in a spicy oil. Delicious. Future plans include: white bean, quinoa, brown rice. Delicious! Thank you!
Kristen says
What size pan does this recipe need?
I made this in December and it was so good That I’m making it for a dinner party and wanted leftovers so I quintupled the recipe. … Not sure I have a large enough pan to do it in one batch.
Marie says
from what I recall, I used a 12 inch pan. I loved it too!
Janet Fazio says
I make ratatouille all the time. Never thought of roasting the veggies instead. I’m looking forward to trying your recipe.
Marie says
Enjoy – hope you like it!
susan says
This was so gooood! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Pat says
How beautiful is that!!! What a lovely mix of veggies. Pinned! 🙂