Romanian Ratatouille Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir garlic until lightly browned. Mix in parsley and eggplant. Cook and stir until eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
• Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Spread zucchini in an even layer over top. Lightly salt and sprinkle with a little more cheese. Continue layering in this fashion, with onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes, covering each layer with a sprinkling of salt and cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F
• Cut the eggplant into large dice, sprinkle lightly with salt and set aside for at least half an hour, then rinse and squeeze out excess moisture.
• Meanwhile, plunge the tomatoes into boiling water, then rapidly into cold. Skin and chop them.
• Roughly chop the fresh herbs, onion, garlic, white of leek, scallions and green pepper.
• Soften the chopped onion and garlic in half the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add the eggplant, leeks, green pepper, dill and half the parsley, and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add the bay leaves, tomatoes, lemon zest, tomato paste and sugar and stir again. Pour over the remaining oil and transfer, if necessary, to an ovenproof casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid.
• Cook in the oven, tightly covered, for 11/2 hours or until perfectly tender. This magnificent vegetable mixture can be served hot, garnished with the remaining herbs, but it shows off its flavours best when cold.
• Try it with cold chicken or turkey, or warm cornbread.

Steps:

• Cut the eggplant and unpeeled zucchini into 1/2 inch slices. Saute eggplant and zucchini in olive oil/butter, several slices at a time; allow 2 or 3 minutes on a side. Remove and drain.
• Using same skillet, cook green peppers, onion, sliced mushrooms and garlic about 10 minutes over medium heat. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and bay leaf; heat thoroughly. Salt to taste.
• Place a layer of eggplant, zucchini, and half of tomato sauce in a 2 1/2-quart casserole. Repeat, ending with tomato sauce.
• Bake, covered at 350* for 1 hour.

Steps:

• Trim and discard the stems from the zucchini and summer squash and slice them into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.
• Peel the onion and dice into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces. Cut the peppers in half, remove and discard the stems and seeds, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Remove and discard the stem from the eggplant and cut into 3/4-inch chunks.
• Cut the Italian sausage into 1/4- to 3/8-inch-thick slices and place in a large stock pot. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until browned. Add the zucchini, squash, onion, and peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften. Add the eggplant and cook for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are almost tender. Stir in the tomatoes and Italian seasoning, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 10 minutes, or until all of the vegetables are cooked through. Serve warm.
• Food Trivia
• Everyone has their own version of how to cut an onion without crying. I'm not convinced that any of them work, but the most popular versions seem to be: 1) freeze the onions for half an hour before chopping; 2) peel them under running water; 3) don't slice the onion root, which releases the strongest fumes; 4) breathe through your nose while chopping. And we can't forget to include holding a piece of bread in your mouth as you chop, although I suggest you try this one when no one else is around.
• VEG OUT
• Do I even have to say you can leave out the Italian sausage?

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut squash lengthwise into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Liberally brush both sides of the eggplants and squash with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Arrange the eggplant and squash on a large baking pan.
• Cut the red pepper lengthwise into 3/4-inch-thick slices, and toss with the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place on the baking pan with the other vegetables. Sprinkle the vegetables with thyme. Roast vegetables until golden brown and tender, 25 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, and serve.