Romanian Ratatouille Recipes

THE BEST RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering, about 1 minute. Add the bell peppers, onion and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent and the bell peppers have softened slightly, about 10 minutes. Add the eggplant, the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until the eggplant is very soft, about 8 minutes. Add the zucchini and continue to cook, stirring often, until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste and red pepper flakes, if using. Cook, stirring often, until the zucchini has softened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the tomatoes, bring to a simmer and then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the ratatouille has reached a thick stew-like consistency, about 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley and basil with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into a bowl and sprinkle with more fresh parsley and basil before serving.

RATATOUILLE PROVENCALE

Steps:

• Pour olive oil into a large pot over high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Reduce heat and add tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, tomato puree, herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Uncover and check the level of liquid in the pot. Continue cooking for 30 minutes, uncovered if there is too much liquid, or covered if the amount of liquid looks right.

RATATOUILLE RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven for 375˚F (190˚C).
• Slice the eggplant, tomatoes, squash, and zucchini into approximately ¹⁄₁₆-inch (1-mm) rounds, then set aside.
• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch (30-cm) oven-safe pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion, garlic, and bell peppers until soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add the crushed tomatoes. Stir until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Remove from heat, then add the basil. Stir once more, then smooth the surface of the sauce with a spatula.
• Arrange the sliced veggies in alternating patterns, (for example, eggplant, tomato, squash, zucchini) on top of the sauce from the outer edge to the middle of the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
• Make the herb seasoning: In a small bowl, mix together the basil, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Spoon the herb seasoning over the vegetables.
• Cover the pan with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover, then bake for another 20 minutes, until the vegetables are softened.
• Serve while hot as a main dish or side. The ratatouille is also excellent the next day--cover with foil and reheat in a 350˚F (180˚C) oven for 15 minutes, or simply microwave to desired temperature.
• Enjoy!

ROMANIAN RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F
• Cut the eggplant into large dice, sprinkle lightly with salt and set aside for at least half an hour, then rinse and squeeze out excess moisture.
• Meanwhile, plunge the tomatoes into boiling water, then rapidly into cold. Skin and chop them.
• Roughly chop the fresh herbs, onion, garlic, white of leek, scallions and green pepper.
• Soften the chopped onion and garlic in half the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add the eggplant, leeks, green pepper, dill and half the parsley, and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add the bay leaves, tomatoes, lemon zest, tomato paste and sugar and stir again. Pour over the remaining oil and transfer, if necessary, to an ovenproof casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid.
• Cook in the oven, tightly covered, for 11/2 hours or until perfectly tender. This magnificent vegetable mixture can be served hot, garnished with the remaining herbs, but it shows off its flavours best when cold.
• Try it with cold chicken or turkey, or warm cornbread.

RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir garlic until lightly browned. Mix in parsley and eggplant. Cook and stir until eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
• Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Spread zucchini in an even layer over top. Lightly salt and sprinkle with a little more cheese. Continue layering in this fashion, with onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes, covering each layer with a sprinkling of salt and cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare the vegetables: Smash and peel 3 garlic cloves, reserving the 4th. Halve onions through their roots, and slice halves into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Slice zucchini into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Cut eggplant into 1-inch cubes or spears. Seed peppers, and cut them into 1/4-inch-thick strips.
• Spread each vegetable on a separate rimmed baking sheet (use extra sheets as necessary). Add the 3 cloves of smashed garlic to the onion pan. Add 1 sprig rosemary and 2 sprigs thyme to each of the pepper, eggplant and zucchini pans. Sprinkle salt lightly over vegetables. Drizzle 3 tablespoons olive oil on each of the pans.
• Place all the pans in the oven (or work in batches if they don't fit at once). Cook until vegetables are very tender and lightly browned at the edges. This will take about 35 to 40 minutes for the peppers (their skins should shrivel), 40 to 45 minutes for the eggplant and zucchini (the eggplant should crisp slightly and the zucchini should be well cooked, so let them go 3 to 5 minutes longer than you normally might), and 60 to 65 minutes for the onions. Don't worry about the vegetables being pretty; they will meld into the ratatouille. Shake or stir the pans every 15 to 20 minutes or so, especially the onions.
• In the meantime, prepare the tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add tomatoes and blanch until the skins split, about 10 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to quickly transfer the tomatoes to a bowl filled with ice water.
• Using a paring knife, peel the cooled tomatoes (the skins should slip right off). Halve tomatoes across their equators. Set a sieve over a bowl. Working over the bowl, use your fingers to seed the tomatoes, letting the seeds catch in the sieve and the juice run into the bowl. Discard seeds but save juices. Dice tomatoes and add to the reserved juices in bowl.
• Finely grate or mince remaining garlic clove. Add garlic to tomatoes along with bay leaves and a large pinch of salt. Set aside.
• Once vegetables are done cooking, combine them on one baking sheet or a large shallow baking dish and add ingredients from tomato bowl. Toss well. Vegetables will be stacked, and that's O.K. Cover generously with olive oil, using remaining ¼ cup oil or more, and sprinkle with salt. Everything should have a good coat of oil, but should not be drowning in it. Cook at least 1 hour, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes, until vegetables are very tender and imbued with juices and oil. Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve warm, or let cool.

ROASTED RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut squash lengthwise into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Liberally brush both sides of the eggplants and squash with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Arrange the eggplant and squash on a large baking pan.
• Cut the red pepper lengthwise into 3/4-inch-thick slices, and toss with the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place on the baking pan with the other vegetables. Sprinkle the vegetables with thyme. Roast vegetables until golden brown and tender, 25 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, and serve.