Ratatouille
Makes: 4 to 6 servings
Time: About 1½ hours, mostly unattended
M V
This classic French dish is no more complicated than combining vegetables, herbs, and olive oil in various proportions and braising them on the stove or in the oven until very soft.
Other vegetables you can use: You can pretty much include whatever you want in this kind of oven braise, but potatoes and mushrooms are the most common additions to ratatouille that I haven’t included here.
- ½ cup olive oil, plus more for serving
- 2 large onions, sliced
- 1½–2 pounds eggplant (preferably small), sliced ½ inch thick
- 1 pound zucchini, trimmed and cut into large chunks
- 2 red or yellow bell peppers, seeded and sliced
- 4 plum or 2 round tomatoes, chopped (or drained canned in a pinch)
- Fresh herbs, any you can find are good (thyme, marjoram, rosemary, savory, basil, parsley, or chervil), chopped, to taste, plus more for garnish
- 10 cloves garlic, halved
- Salt and pepper
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Pour a couple of tablespoons of the oil in a casserole or heavy ovenproof skillet. Make a layer of half of the onion, followed by half the eggplant, then half the zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, and garlic (the order doesn’t matter, just that they’re layered) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining vegetables and more herbs. Drizzle with the remaining oil.
- Braise it in the oven for about an hour, pressing down on the vegetables occasionally with a spatula, until they are all completely tender. Garnish with more herbs, drizzle with a little more oil, and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
Stovetop Mixed Vegetables with Olive Oil This requires a little more attention: Combine all the ingredients in the largest skillet you have (a broad saucepan will also work) and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat, adjusting the heat so the mixture simmers in its own juices without browning. Cooking time will be just a little shorter, perhaps 45 minutes or so.