This is another recipe my friend and I made last weekend during our cooking marathon. This time of year is perfect for making a huge batch of ratatouille and freezing it!
Ratatouille is a produce-heavy dish, using eggplants, zucchini, onions, and peppers. My friend doesn’t really love eggplant, so I used fairy tale eggplants which are smaller, with thinner skins and are a bit sweeter than regular eggplants.
Ratatouille also allows you to do a lot of the prep work ahead of time. The vegetables are cooked separately, so prep work does go into a bunch of bags, but it makes the cooking process much easier. We used a recipe from The Kitchn as our base.
Ingredients (makes 8 to 10 servings):
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 3 medium green bell peppers, chopped
- 6 to 8 medium zucchini, cut into bit sized pieces
- 4 large tomatoes, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 fairy tale eggplants
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/4 cup basil, sliced into ribbons, plus more for garnish
- salt and pepper, to taste
If prepping ahead of time, chop your onions, bell peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes and add to separate zip top bags. Mince the garlic and add to the same bag as the onions.
When ready to cook, chop the eggplants into bite sized pieces. Add to a strainer over a bowl and toss with one tablespoon of salt. Let sit and drain.
Meanwhile, add 1 teaspoon olive oil to a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers and cook for another 5 minutes, until the peppers have softened. Remove the mixture from heat and transfer to a large bowl.
Add in 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the pot and add the zucchini, seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add to the same bowl with the onions and peppers.
Add another 2 teaspoons olive oil to the pot and add the drained eggplant. Cook until softened, about 5-8 minutes. Add in the tomatoes, bay lead, and sprigs of thyme, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits as the tomatoes release liquid.
Add in the bowl of cooked vegetables back to the pot, stirring to combine. Bring to a simmer and then turn the heat down to low. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the basil.
To serve, sprinkle with more basil. To freeze, spoon into freezer-safe containers and let cool completely. Cover and freeze up to three months.
This Freezable Ratatouille is good on its own, or over rice, polenta, or freekeh (Bob’s Red Mill, as I mentioned in my chili post, send over some goodies for me in anticipation of my cooking day. All three of these would be awesome with ratatouille!)
Ratatouille can be eaten cold, room temperature, or warm so it’s a great year-round dish!
To see all of the recipes we made this past weekend, check out my Chili post!
Ingredients
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 3 medium green bell peppers, chopped
- 6 to 8 medium zucchini, cut into bit sized pieces
- 4 large tomatoes, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 fairy tale eggplants
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/4 cup basil, sliced into ribbons, plus more for garnish
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- If prepping ahead of time, chop your onions, bell peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes and add to separate zip top bags. Mince the garlic and add to the same bag as the onions.
- When ready to cook, chop the eggplants into bite sized pieces. Add to a strainer over a bowl and toss with one tablespoon of salt. Let sit and drain.
- Meanwhile, add 1 teaspoon olive oil to a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers and cook for another 5 minutes, until the peppers have softened. Remove the mixture from heat and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add in 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the pot and add the zucchini, seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add to the same bowl with the onions and peppers.
- Add another 2 teaspoons olive oil to the pot and add the drained eggplant. Cook until softened, about 5-8 minutes. Add in the tomatoes, bay lead, and sprigs of thyme, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits as the tomatoes release liquid.
- Add in the bowl of cooked vegetables back to the pot, stirring to combine. Bring to a simmer and then turn the heat down to low. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the basil.
- To serve, sprinkle with more basil. To freeze, spoon into freezer-safe containers and let cool completely. Cover and freeze up to three months.
What do you think?