I've tried Ratatouille before, and never thought it was anything special. Just some overcooked, soggy, roasted vegetables. But, there's another way! A more delicious endeavor! Let the eggplant be a sauce - it's so obvious, I can't believe I hadn't thought of it myself.
You'll need:
1/3 cup olive oil
2 onions
6 cloves garlic
Herbs de Provence
Red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
1 large eggplant - peeled and cut into chunks
12 roma tomatoes - peeled and seeded
bay leaf
1 large zucchini - cubed
Yellow bell peppers - sliced into large chunks
Mushrooms - cut into large chunks
Fresh parsley and basil
Start off with an oven safe, lidded pot - I used our iron dutch oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Pour olive oil into dutch oven and set on stove top at medium heat.
Chop onion into large chunks and place onion and peeled, whole garlic gloves into warm oil. Heat until translucent, for about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle a generous amount of herbs de provence into the pot, along with red pepper flakes to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Stir and simmer for another minute while herbs bloom.
Add by leaf, eggplant, and tomatoes. There is no need to salt or tenderize the eggplant - it will break down during roasting, and we'll mash it into a sauce later. Place the dutch oven, uncovered, into the preheated oven and roast the veggie mixture for 45 minutes. Leaving the lid off will help the liquid evaporate while cooking.
After 45 minutes, remove pot from oven and, using a potato masher, mash vegetables until a thick and chunky sauce forms. Place zucchini, bell peppers, and mushrooms into pot. Season with more salt and pepper. Return to oven, uncovered for another 25 minutes.
Remove from oven, and place lid on pot. Let sit for 10 minutes while the vegetables finish steaming.
Serve with chopped fresh parsley and basil.
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