With a freshly picked delivery of peppers and eggplant from Bellair Farms courtesy of my friend + farmer, Charlotte, I realized I was already halfway to making a ratatouille. Just a few more ingredients, a raisin mint couscous salad, sage honey toasted baguette, and a bottle of cheap red wine, and the romantic supper wheels were in motion. I chose to roast the pepper and eggplant for an added smokey flavor and to expedite the cooking process.
{ Bon Appétiting, Katie }
Serves 2-4
4 peppers (assorted colors, red, green, yellow)
1 medium eggplant (purple is nice but black works too)
olive oil
1 large white onion
4 cloves garlic
fresh herbs: rosemary, sage, thyme (dry is fine too)
1/4 cup red wine
1 large zucchini
one 25oz can whole plum tomatoes
1 TBS tomato paste
salt + pepper
parsley
- Set the oven to broil.
- Begin by halving and deseeding peppers and dicing the eggplant into 1/2 inch cubes. Place both on a baking sheet (but keep them separate) and cover generously with olive oil. Place on the middle rack in the oven and allow to roast for 5-10 minutes, checking frequently that the vegetables are not burning.
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil and saute onion, garlic, and herbs while the vegetables roast. Add the red wine, eggplant and tomatoes, reserving a half cup of the tomato juice for later, breaking down the tomatoes with a spoon (CAUTION the tomatoes tend to explode). Cover and simmer.
- Dice up the roasted pepper and zucchini and add to the pot along with the tomato juice and paste. Stir and cover again, simmering until the vegetables are tender, 15-20 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper, garnish with parsley.