Ratatouille-Fresh from the Garden

Do you have a garden full of veggies? My garden is overflowing with an abundance of veggies so this recipe is a wonderful way to utilize them. Here is a delicious dish to prepare and serve in a variety of ways…Most often this is our side dish served with BBQ skewers of chicken or beef, but I sometimes will add white beans or grate some parmesan cheese over the top and serve it as our main dish. You can also eat it cold stuffed in pita bread with hummus…..wrapped in a warm tortilla or naan bread with arugula and goat cheese…or serve cold on a bed of greens with toasted pine nuts and a scoop of quinoa. Enjoy this delicious recipe for a summer favorite.

Ratatouille is a stewed vegetable dish from the French Provencal traditional menu, originating in Nice.The French word touiller means to toss around. In most recipes, the key ingredients are the same but the process of cooking the dish vary between each chef’s preference. Some sauté all the vegetables together and simmer on the stove top, some sauté the vegetables separately and layer and bake. Our family favorite (recipe below) is as delicious as any I ever tasted when traveling in France and is the easiest recipe of them all!! Ratatouille was a family favorite of ours way before the Pixar animated “RATATOUILLE” movie was released in 2007. The movie brought awareness to the delicious French dish but many were put off by the lengthy steps to prepare the recipe. You no longer need to be intimidated because you can try our family favorite Ratatouille and wow all your friends. Most often this is our side dish served with BBQ skewers of chicken or beef, but I sometimes will add white beans or grate some parmesan cheese over the top and serve it as the main dish over rice pilaf. You can also eat it cold stuffed in pita bread with hummus.

Ingredients

3 onions sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 eggplant cut in quarters and sliced
6 medium zucchini cut in half and sliced
1 green pepper sliced
2 cups fresh string beans cut into 1 inch pieces
4-5 large tomatoes (with seeds and skin) chopped up or 2 (15 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
1 (16 oz) can white or Northern beans (optional)
1/2 cup water
2-3 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1-2 teaspoons fine herbs (herbs of provence)
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
1-2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon sugar

Sauté onions in oil. Place onions and all remaining ingredients in a 4-5 quart ovenproof casserole and stir. Cover and bake in a 350˚ oven for 2-3 hours, until vegetables are tender. Stir every 3 hours. Saves up to a week in the refrigerator.
Picture below has 1 (16 oz) can of white kidney or northern beans stirred in before serving.