Adventures in Cooking Our CSA Share: Rah, Rah, Ratatouille!

With eggplant, onion, bell pepper, garlic, and zucchini in our CSA boxes recently, I immediately thought of ratatouille. I'm surprised I haven't blogged about ratatouille before because I have really grown to enjoy it, when I never would have considered it a few years ago (not being a big eggplant or squash fan then). I tried a new version of the recipe today, from Robin Robertson (it's the first of the two below), in my new small slow cooker (thanks to Miss D for the wedding present!), and it is definitely quicker and easier; plus I like the pesto at the end. Jyl Steinbeck's ratatouille (the second recipe) requires salting the eggplant and letting it drain for an hour, which is a tedious step (especially because once I forgot to rinse all the salt off), but the tomato paste gives it a sweetness to counterbalance some of the acidity; plus it makes a whole bunch (probably double the Robertson), which can be good or bad. Oddly, neither recipe includes Herbes de Provence, which I'm told is standard to be a "real" ratatouille, so now I use it instead of the other herbs (I mean, who can pass up lavender with dinner?) Tonight, Bud inhaled the ratatouille, starting with the zucchini, then onions, then bell pepper, even though each time he said, "I don't eat that!" and then did--we just snuck in the eggplant by the end! I might try to combine these two recipes and see what I get, with pesto and tomato paste. Because I think we get all these ingredients again this week . . .

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Half-Day Ratatouille

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2" dice

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 small red bell pepper, sedded and cut into 1/2" dice

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 small zucchini, cut into 1/2" thick rounds

28-oz. can diced tomatoes, with their juice

1 teaspoon dried thyme (I used Herbes de Provence)

salt and pepper

3 tablespoons pesto

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggplant to a 3 1/2-4 quart slow cooker.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the same skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the onion to the slow cooker along with the bell pepper, garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, and their juice, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours, until the vegetables are tender.

Just before serving, stir in the pesto.

Robin Robertson, Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker

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Ratatouille

1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1” cubes
1-2 teaspoons salt
2 cups frozen chopped onions, thawed, drained and patted dry (or, geez, real onions)
1-28 oz can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 large green bell pepper, cut into ½” pieces
1 large red bell pepper, cut into ½” pieces
2 medium zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
3 tablespoons dried basil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons nonfat vegetable broth
1-6 oz can Italian tomato paste with roasted garlic
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray (wipe with canola oil for kiddos). Sprinkle eggplant with salt and let stand in colander 30-60 minutes to drain (we did about 45 min). Press out any excess moisture; rinse eggplant with water and pat dry with paper towels. Arrange eggplant in bottom of cooker. Top with onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, and squash. Ad dried basil and minced garlic to broth; pour over vegetables and mix well. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Stir in tomato paste and fresh basil before serving.

Jyl Steinbeck, The Busy Mom’s Slow Cooker Cookbook