Good gracious, it is hot outside! My garden is beginning to wilt, but the vegetable garden is producing (by the hardest). The sun is beating down and I’m harvesting what I can for now. How am I going to use all these vegetables in such a short amount of time? Things don’t hold as long in the summertime and it’s too hot to can everything I harvest. So, today I’m making Summer Garden Ratatouille!
Ratatouille, also known as the “Provencal vegetable stew,” is made by cooking together onions, tomatoes, eggplant, and zucchini or squash in olive oil. How the flavors are combined varies from chef to chef, but today we will only be sauteing garlic, onions, herbs and beans. The rest of the ingredients will be beautifully layered into a casserole dish and baked. Using this method, you can identify each colorful vegetable from your garden.
Did you know the more color in a dish, the more appealing it is to the eye? It makes you think it is better tasting than a more bland looking dish. This is why chefs often design a plate with more color, texture, and garnish making the dish seem more enticing and satisfying!
Summer Garden Ratatouille
Ingredients:
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 med sweet onions, peeled and sliced
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 can (15 oz) of cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 1/2 tsp herbs de Provence
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 large eggplant, trimmed, halved, and sliced (about one pound. I used two ‘Ichiban’ eggplants)
- 3 large yellow summer squash, halved and sliced (may also combine zucchini)
- 1/2 lb Yukon Rose Gold potatoes,halved and sliced
- 3 Roma tomatoes, halved and sliced
- 6 oz feta cheese
