Ratatouille
….Today’s dish is an easy-to-make eggplant recipe. Ratatouille is originally a simple vegetable dish from the countryside of southern France, but the combination of eggplant and tomato provides a nutritionally complete vegetarian meal. Adding tomatoes to the eggplant dish enhances its antioxidant properties and lycopene content, which synergistically boosts cellular immunity.
Although the recipe is similar to a vegetable stew where leftover vegetables are sautéed with tomato sauce to create a rich vegetable sauce, you can make it more special by slicing the vegetables uniformly and layering them neatly, which adds visual appeal that enhances appetite.
Today, I bought heirloom eggplants from the market. Although they don’t have the deep purple skin, I was curious about the taste, so I bought them. Summer eggplants have firm flesh, so they don’t get too mushy when making ratatouille, and they turned out to be quite savory. I also added colorful yellow and green zucchini, making the process enjoyable. The colors reminded me of the rainbow-striped patterns on a hanbok jacket I wore as a child.
In addition, I used lemon salt that had been aging for a few months, which @comble0’s recipe had prepared. When I use lemon salt to make salad dressing, the subtle lemon fragrance adds a touch of elegance to the salads. Also the rich flavor of the tomato sauce and the subtle lemon aroma enhanced the dish even more. This combination of eggplant and tomato, while vegetarian, makes for a healthy and delicious recipe….
Servings: 6
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 small heirloom eggplants, sliced 1/4 inch thick circles
- 1 1/2 yellow zucchinis, sliced 1/4 inch thick circles
- 1 green zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick circles
- 5 tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick circles
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp basil, minced
- 2 tsp parsley, minced
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp lemon salt
- sea salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1/3 onion, diced
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
Cooking Instructions:
- Heat an oven pan over medium heat, then add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, onion, and garlic to the pan, and stir-fry them for 1 minute.
2. Cut the leftover vegetables and put them in the pan to stir-fry them 2 minutes.
3. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the lemon salt and tomato sauce to the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes.
4. After 5 minutes, preheat the oven to 380°F. Arrange the sliced vegetables in a circular pattern, standing upright in the dish over the sauce.
5. Sprinkle sea salt, black pepper, and olive oil over the vegetables.
6. Cover the pan and bake for 40 minutes.
7. After 40 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and place it on a counter. Sprinkle some basil and parsley over the vegetables.
8. Uncover and bake until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
9. After 20–25 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the pan from the oven. Place it on a counter.
10. Serve it immediately.
You can also view this recipe on Instagram.
