Ratatouille Roasted

By saraneddie

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet or purple onion, skinned and chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (find fresh garlic with green stems in the summer!)
• 1 radicchio (optional), chopped
• 2 bulbs fennel, peeled and chopped
• 1 large (firm and heavy) eggplant, cubed
• 1 lb. green beans (optional), tailed (meaning: chop off the tails, but not the tops!) and cut in half
• 5 green or yellow zucchini (or any summer squash), cubed
• 8 fresh roma (plum) tomatoes, cubed (feel free to score, blanch and peel if you desire)
• 5 new potatoes (Yukon Gold or small red Bliss), halved or quartered
• 1 large bunch basil, washed well and torn into bite- sized pieces (smaller leaves can be left whole)
• 11 ⁄2 cups (approximately) extra-virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Kosher salt or coarse sea salt
• 8 ounces tomato sauce or tomato puree (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

1 Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2 Line three baking trays with parchment paper.

3 Toss the onion, garlic, radicchio, fennel, eggplant, green beans, zucchini and tomatoes in a mixing bowl. add a splash of olive oil, a pinch of salt, a grind of pepper and a dash of balsamic vinegar and toss.

4 Spread out on a baking tray (or two, if necessary) and roast until just browned.

5 Toss the potatoes with some olive oil and roast separately until browned.

6 As the vegetables complete the cooking cycle, throw them in a bowl or pot along with the fresh basil leaves. You can add more olive oil, salt, pepper, or balsamic vinegar as needed.

7 If you want a much saucier dish you can transfer everything to the stove and add a can of tomatoes (sauce, puree or chopped) and let it simmer for five or ten minutes.
8 Rewarm as needed, in the oven or on the stove — even on a hotplate for Friday night.