Oven version works well for summer veggie dish

Ratatouille is a favorite summer vegetable dish in our house. It was one of those hippie vegetarian dishes all my friends were making about 30 years ago, and I adhered to the “Moosewood Cookbook” version pretty steadily for a while. But under the tutelage of “The Silver Palate Cookbook,” I learned about cooking it partly in the oven. Only a touch more laziness propelled me into the all-oven version I have here.

I really like the flexibility of ratatouille, because even though the recipes call for so many pounds of eggplant or summer squashes, or specify a certain number of tomatoes, I find I can adjust it to what comes from the garden, or is easily available in the store or farmers market. We have a tough time growing eggplants in our garden, so I have been known to make this dish without eggplant, though I don’t call it ratatouille when I do. It still tastes really good.

I use whatever combination of summer squashes I have – zucchini or yellow. I think paste tomatoes are better than big juicy slicing tomatoes. I like to use fresh basil, oregano and the flat-leafed Italian parsley. I have been known to add vinaigrette or Italian salad dressing at the last minute if it needs a bit of punching up.

This dish is a great accompaniment to a bit of grilled or roasted chicken or lamb. It is also perfectly good as a main dish served on rice with or without a sprinkling of Parmesan or other cheese. Don’t leave out the wine.

Oven Ratatouille

Serves four to six

1 eggplant cubed and lightly salted

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cloves of garlic crushed

1 medium onion, chopped coarsely

2 medium summer squashes, sliced thickly

2 bell peppers, any color, cubed

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon minced oregano or 1 teaspoon dried

2 tablespoons minced fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried

4 paste tomatoes, cubed or cut in wedges

1/4 cup red wine

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 F. Drain the eggplant and pat it dry with a paper towel. Put the olive oil in a roasting pan, and toss the eggplant in it to make sure the eggplant has oil on it. Put it into the oven and roast for 25 minutes. After the 25 minutes are up, reduce the temperature to 375 F and add the garlic, onion, squashes, peppers and herbs. Roast these with the eggplant for 15 minutes, and then add the rest of the ingredients, mixing them together, and roast an additional 10 minutes. Sample to see if the vegetables are tender enough for your taste, and roast a little longer if not. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper, or even additional herbs.