I've posted about this several times already. There's nothing new under the sun, especially if you're somebody who has been blogging for almost two decades. This oven-baked ratatouille is a summertime specialty. The first photo here shows how it's put together. Rounds of fresh eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes are packed into a baking dish. Optionally, add some red and green bell pepper strips. I had some, so I added them.
What you can't see is what's under the vegetables. Dice up an onion, and maybe a shallot or two, as well as three or four cloves of garlic. Sauté those lightly in olive oil and put those in the bottom of the dish along with two or three bay leaves. Then layer on the vegetables. Before putting the dish in the oven, drizzle olive oil generously all over the vegetables. Pour into the dish half a cup or so of water and season everything with salt, pepper, and dried thyme or other herbs. Preheat the oven.
Put the dish in the oven, uncovered. Let it bake between 160 and 180 degrees C (325 and 350 degrees F) — it all depends on your oven. Keep an eye on the dish, adjusting the temperature and adding more water as needed so that the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers steam and bake at the same time. Don't stir it. When the vegetables start browning, collapsing, and softening — test them using a skewer, fork, or paring knife — it's up to you to decide when they are cooked enough. It will take an hour or even 90 minutes. Serve this
gratin de ratatouille hot, warm, or cold, as you like it.
What you can't see is what's under the vegetables. Dice up an onion, and maybe a shallot or two, as well as three or four cloves of garlic. Sauté those lightly in olive oil and put those in the bottom of the dish along with two or three bay leaves. Then layer on the vegetables. Before putting the dish in the oven, drizzle olive oil generously all over the vegetables. Pour into the dish half a cup or so of water and season everything with salt, pepper, and dried thyme or other herbs. Preheat the oven.
Put the dish in the oven, uncovered. Let it bake between 160 and 180 degrees C (325 and 350 degrees F) — it all depends on your oven. Keep an eye on the dish, adjusting the temperature and adding more water as needed so that the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers steam and bake at the same time. Don't stir it. When the vegetables start browning, collapsing, and softening — test them using a skewer, fork, or paring knife — it's up to you to decide when they are cooked enough. It will take an hour or even 90 minutes. Serve this gratin de ratatouille hot, warm, or cold, as you like it.
Ken, do you feel like there was a difference in flavor, cooking the Ratatouille this way, as opposed to the previous way you showed (when you lightly browned some parts, first)?
ReplyDeleteI’d be interested to know Ken’s answer. I think the browning of each vegetable first gives a special flavor to the whole dish.
DeleteBrowning each vegetable makes a difference in flavor, It especially gives the cooking liquid a smoky color and taste. As for the ratatouille cooked in the oven, well, I haven't tasted that one yet.
DeleteI am going to suggest to the “cook” here to read this post in your blog and serve it to us. If you follow carefully the instructions, you don’t need to be a cook to make of this a successful dish.
ReplyDeleteI am going to suggest to the “cook” here to read this post in your blog and serve it to us. If you follow carefully the instructions, you don’t need to be a cook to make of this a successful dish.
ReplyDeleteI am going to suggest to the “cook” here to read this post in your blog and serve it to us. If you follow carefully the instructions, you don’t need to be a cook to make of this a successful dish.
ReplyDeleteSorry. I turned on comment moderation as an experiment a few hours ago.Tell me what you think.
DeleteI was surprised and went back to sleep!
DeleteI was surprised and went back to sleep!
DeleteI love this recipe. A different way to use our glut of courgettes and tomatoes!
ReplyDeleteI got this recipe from Peter Hertzmann. I believe you met him. We all had lunch together in Chemillé in the restaurant on the lake. I thank him for it again.
DeleteI usually do this in a pot on the stove, rather than baking it. I have to try your method of browing first then into the oven.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm making a ratatouille baked in the oven, I don't brown the zucchini and eggplant first. They cook long enough to brown without pre-cooking.
Delete