My oh my it has been a while since my last post! If you have ever lived then you know summer is an unpredictable and crazy time of year. However, now I am back in New Orleans, and excited to get back to my routine and beloved Hollygrove Market and Farm.

This week’s box included this beautiful bounty:

If those ingredients don’t immediately scream ratatouille to you, you need to watch more Food Network my friend.

P.S. check out my swanky new countertops in my new house. Ooh la la.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and begin by chopping the onion into large pieces like so.

Toss them into a dutch oven or other large, heavy pot over medium heat with a generous drizzle of olive oil.

While the onions cook down, prepare the eggplant and squash. This really just means cut them into circles. Wild stuff.

Once the onions are mostly translucent and a little brown on the edges remove them from the pot.

If the pot seems dry, drizzle with a bit more olive oil, but if not just toss the eggplant and squash right in.

Cook over medium heat for about ten minutes, stirring constantly until the veggies are slightly browned. One of the best parts of seasonal farmer’s market cooking is learning about new ingredients. These funny little eggplants were super spongey, so they absorbed flavor quickly and had a meaty texture. I’ll definitely keep looking out for them!

These probably won’t be available in just any grocery store, but feel free to substitute with any organic variety you can find.

Season the vegetables with salt, pepper, and minced garlic. Traditionally, ratatouille is flavored with fresh thyme. Hollygrove didn’t have any this week, so I omitted it from this recipe. If you have it, throw in a bundle and remove right before serving.

Then add the cooked onion and the cherry tomatoes. I loove roasted cherry tomatoes. They are also actually more nutritious than regular tomatoes by weight. The highest concentration of lycopene (the key antioxidant found in tomatoes) is in the tomato skin, so you get more bang for your buck eating the little guys.

Slide the whole pot uncovered into the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes.

Serve immediately as a side dish, over polenta or fresh greens, or tossed in a pasta, omelet, or crepe.

 

Summer Squash Ratatouille

Serves: 2

Level: Easy

Ingredients: 

3 small yellow squash, sliced into rounds

1 lb eggplant, cut into bite sized pieces

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 medium white onion, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

3 T olive oil

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a dutch oven or other large pot over medium heat, warm olive oil and cook onions, stirring occasionally, until translucent and slightly browned (about 5 minutes). Remove onions.

In the same pot, add eggplant and squash and cook, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes or until browned. Add garlic, salt, pepper, cooked onion, and cherry tomatoes back into the pot. Stir to combine.

Roast in the oven for 15-20 or until the vegetables have softened and tomatoes have burst.

Enjoy!