Ratatouille By Casey Angelova
By: Casey Angelova
Published: Friday, September 10, 2010 - 1:58am

Ingredients




1 lg eggplant, cut into 1 inch/ 2.5 cubes (about 8 cups)
4 medium zucchini, cut into inch/ 2.5 cubes (about 8 cups)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 4 tbsp
3 tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves, chopped
6 pounds /2.5 kg tomatoes, blanched& cut into eights
4 bell peppers, 2 red, 2 yellow, roasted, peeled slices lengthwise about ¾/ 2 cm t
6 cloves of garlic, minced (feel free to adjust quantity to your personal preference)
2 md onions, cut into half moons about ½/ 1.25 cm thick
1 handful large of fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 handful large of fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
salt& freshly ground pepper

Preparation

1 Preheat the oven to 400F/205C. 2 Combine cubed eggplant and zucchini in a large bowl with 1/2 of the thyme and 1/2 cup of the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat the vegetables completely. 3 Roast in the oven, tossing occasionally for about 30 minutes.  You want them to have a bit of golden color but not be charred.  Depending on the size of your oven, you might need to do this in batches.  I have a small European oven, so I needed to do three.  After cooking, the eggplant and zucchini will reduce to less than half, so don't worry. 4 In a large dutch oven, heat the remaining olive oil over medium-high heat.  Once the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the onions and let cook for about 3 minutes till soft, then add the garlic and cook one minute more till fragrant. 5 Next, add the tomatoes and peppers, cook until the tomatoes are soft about 6 - 8 minutes. 6 Then add the roasted eggplant and zucchini 7 Of the sliced basil and the rest of the chopped thyme.  Season with salt and pepper.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasional for about 30 minutes to all the vegetables are soft. 8 Before serving stir in the parsley and remaining basil, cook for about a minute more to incorporate the herbs and serve.  Will keep for up to three days in the fridge, covered.