Welcome back to our 5-component meal series! This week’s entry is from my pal Brooks Reitz, who operates an empire of popular restaurants in Charleston and is also the steward of a amazing way of living newsletter I study religiously known as A Modest and Straightforward Issue.
It was on that newsletter wherever he just lately shared his recipe for ratatouille. But not your usual ratatouille. At this stage of life, he does not have time for large cooking initiatives. “A food demanding a number of ways, very careful measuring, or comprehensive planning is not a food I’m fascinated in,” he writes. If he did have time for venture cooking, while, he concedes ratatouille would be one of the dishes that would make the minimize. “I’d appreciate to take the time to very carefully fry the person elements in olive oil, every achieving peak doneness just before carefully combining the sections into a amazing, symphonic total.” But until that working day, there’s Lazy Man’s Ratatouille, a vegetarian meal that leans on jarred tomato sauce for a very little help — and involves only One pan in the kitchen.
Lazy Man’s Ratatouille
From Brooks: This is a attractive stew, simplified for an straightforward weeknight meal. I love this dish room temp (or cold) with a scoop of ricotta and crusty bread. Serves 2-3, and can be scaled up or down. (The vegetables shrink substantially in the oven, so really do not fret if your baking sheet or roasting pan appears to be seriously crowded.)
2 medium zucchini, chopped into 1/2-inch parts
2 Japanese eggplant (or any eggplant), chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 medium pink onion, chopped into wedges and layers divided
6-8 smaller tomatoes, quartered
olive oil*
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper*
1 cup jarred tomato sauce, this sort of as Rao’s
Optional add-ins: 3 tablespoons capers, clean herbs like basil or parsley, contemporary ricotta or yogurt, hunk of crusty bread
Warmth oven to 400°F. Chuck the zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, and onion into a significant roasting pan or baking sheet and season the complete mess in tons of olive oil (enough to coat, but not drench) and a shower of kosher salt. After baking for 15 minutes, pull out the dish and add tomato sauce. (I use Rao’s because I adore it, it’s uncomplicated to discover, and it is obtained a number of straightforward substances.) Place this back again into the oven and roast for an additional 35-45 minutes, until all the things is comfortable but not collapsed. The zucchini should really still have a little bit of life, and the very best way to verify is to test it out about 30 minutes in.
Permit this amazing on the stovetop, and when it has reached area temperature, you can select your add-ins (I’d argue the ricotta is a non-negotiable).
* We are not counting olive oil, salt, or pepper in the ingredient complete.
Thanks, Brooks!
P.S. Much more 5-component dinners, including a tomato-feta tart.
