La ratatouille | Dinner is served

Ratatouille is a French stew from Provence, France, made with late summer vegetables like eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini prepared by searing and slow-cooking them with aromatic herbs until perfectly tender. The vegetables in this dish can also vary depending on what’s in season and what’s available. It's very versatile side dish and makes a delicious vegetarian main dish, too.

In some ratatouille recipes, the vegetables are sautéed, browned, or roasted on baking sheets in stages, combined, then stewed in a pan in the oven or on the stovetop. My husband prefers the stovetop method, which is the traditional ratatouille method.

Ratatouille is one of those dishes my husband loves to prepare and does it very well! This evening he prepared a flavourful ratatouille. I decided that I wanted to prepare stewed beef as well but realized that it does not pair with ratatouille. Ratatouille can be the main dish with a side of crusty bread to soak up all those flavorful juices, or a salad accompanying a meal, but it’s also good served over pasta, mashed potatoes, quinoa, and rice.

I prepared a simple beef separately by pressure cooking wit some spices and served over the ratatouille.

Here is a recipe:

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for serving

2 eggplants (1 large), diced

Salt

1/4 teaspoon Ground black pepper

2-3 zucchini, diced

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 sprigs fresh thyme

4 tomatoes, diced

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

Instructions:

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until shimmering.

Add the eggplant, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned in spots, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to the pot. Add the zucchini, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned in spots, about 2 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the eggplant.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and just beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the garlic, thyme, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes and bell peppers. Add the reserved eggplant and zucchini and gently stir to combine.

Bring to a simmer, then turn down the heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for at least 20 minutes or up to 1 1/2 hours. A shorter cooking time will leave the vegetables in larger, more distinct pieces; longer cooking times will break the vegetables down into a silky stew.

Remove the thyme sprigs. Just before serving, stir in the basil. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve, sprinkling each serving with more basil and drizzling with more olive oil.

Bon appétit/enjoy

NOTE: The beef was not part of the ratatouille recipe. I added after.