Oven Roasted Ratatouille

Kip

16 years ago

Ratatouille, aside from being a pain in the arse to type, is one of my favourite comfort foods. I have a series of different methods for cooking this French inspired dish, depending on how I'm feeling and what flavours I'm craving. Regardless of the method, this dish includes some of my favourite vegetables... and since I'm a fan of roasted tomatoes, a roasted version is particularly appealing.

A stew of sorts, generally containing aubergine (eggplant), courgette (zuchinni), peppers, onion, and garlic, the "proper" method of ratatouille preparation is often debated. My view? Cook stuff and make it taste good. Who cares how you reach the end result, so long as the end result doesn't burn holes through your intestinal tract?

Anyway, that's why you have someone else taste your experiments first.

Recipe Notes

This particular incarnation of my oven roasted version of ratatouille failed to include garlic. More to the point, garlic failed to appear in my kitchen in order to be included. It is a rare event indeed when the garlic is out. Alas, I managed to found a single clove and cooked it in some oil to put on the pasta before serving with the veggies. Normally I would roast a whole head or two with this.

Speaking of which, a good way to serve this is with pasta, but it can of course be eaten on its own as well. Keep in mind this is enough for a couple of very hungry individuals if you also include pasta.

I roasted this at a fairly low temperature for a fairly long time. Feel free to experiment with those times. Perhaps turn up the heat and reduce the time. Maybe you prefer some burnt aspects to your veg (hey, don't laugh- I love burnt aubergine). If you reduce the time, it might be an idea to also reduce the size of your vegetable pieces before popping in the oven.

Baked / Roasted Ratatouille

Serves two

Ingredients
- 2 Courgettes (zuchinni), cut into chunks (that's approx 285g)
- 1 Red Pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
- 1 Aubergine (eggplant, diced into 1 inch pieces)
- 400g Cherry Tomatoes, halved
- 1 Onion, cut into sixths
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoon herbs (basil, thyme, marjoram, oregano- your choice)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1-2 heads garlic

Directions/Method
1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees celcius (350 F).
2. In a roasting tin combine all of the ingredients except the garlic, if using. Make sure the oil is coating all of the vegetables well.
3. Place in the oven and cook for about 1 hour and 15 minutes before removing.
4. If including garlic, peel as much paper from the head(s) as possible and coat with some more olive oil. Put on a tray in the oven for the final 30 minutes of the ratatouille's cooking time. To make life more simple, clip/cut the top of the garlic bulb to allow the cloves to be easily squeezed out when done.
5. Add garlic to vegetables and toss together. Server either on its own or with a rice or grain. Top with chopped basil or other herbs if you'd like.