Quasi-Ratatouille: Summertime Grilled Vegetables

Given the produce coming out of our garden, and our weekly produce deliveries, we’ve had an excess of eggplant, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes. I’ve made this dish a few times over this past summer and just recently realized it is quite similar to ratatouille.

I won’t claim that this is anything authentic, but it’s a versatile, tasty dish of summertime bounty for the grill. There’s no exact recipe. Basically, just chop enough of the vegetables to fit in a skillet. This fits into a standard-size cast iron skillet (see photo), and we’ve been serving it with pasta and fresh basil, fresh oregano, more olive oil, and crumbled feta cheese.

2 ichiban eggplants, chopped (or 1 small Italian eggplant)
1 big zucchini, chopped (or a couple smaller ones)
1 pint cherry tomatoes (or a couple handfuls)
1-2 roma tomatoes, chopped (or a single larger tomato)
1-2 cloves of garlic (more/less as you’d like)
1/2 small onion
12 oz pasta (spaghetti or rotini; a full pound may be too much)
fresh basil, chopped
fresh oregano, chopped
olive oil
crumbled feta cheese (or parmesan or asiago)

Chop the vegetables. Drizzle olive oil generously into a cast iron skillet, add veggies, drizzle a little more olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put this on a grill (or stovetop) on a medium heat. It will take about 20 minutes or so to cook into a stew. Stir it occasionally so nothing sticks or burns. It’s done when the veggies begin to caramelize and has the look and feel of a thick stew.

To serve with pasta, cook the pasta while the vegetables are cooking (or, keep veggies warm while the pasta cooks). Toss the vegetables, pasta, fresh basil, and fresh oregano. Top with selected cheese, drizzle with more olive oil, and serve.

This probably reheats well, but we’ve never had leftovers...

Here again, with Baked Feta, Chickpeas, and Kale

It’s been eight years — EIGHT! — since my last post. We’ve settled in Ohio and are hundreds of miles from our previous homes, but we have a longer growing season and loads of locally produced ingredients. Today, I felt the need to come back to this virtual place. I find myself returning to some of the recipes here (such as this, this, and this). And so, I'm back. Some things change but always seem to stay the same...

This dish is adapted from Mark Bittman’s Baked Feta with Chickpeas and Greens. As you can see, it does not photograph well... but it is delicious. We’ve tried this with rice (ok, but not great) and highly recommend grilled bread or toast with it. I buy feta in 16 oz. blocks, but it isn't always easy to find. Crumbled feta will work as a substitute.

The tomato sauce I use is this Simple Tomato Sauce (courtesy of Cookie & Kate) and make it exactly as she’s written it but for this particular dish, I omit the oregano. FYI, this tomato sauce can be easily made in a slow cooker too. You'll end up with more than you need and fortunately, it freezes well.

2 T olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 large bunch of kale (chopped), or half of a 32 oz. bag of pre-chopped kale
3 cups tomato sauce
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained or 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
water
1 lemon, halved
Freshly ground black pepper
8 oz block feta, cut into ½-inch- thick slices (crumbled feta works ok if you can't find a block)
grilled or toasted bread for serving

Grab a large skillet with a lid. Drizzle with olive oil, heat it, and sprinkle the ground cumin into the skillet. Cook for about a minute. Add the chopped kale in handfuls, letting each cook down a little before adding more. After the kale has cooked down, add the chickpeas, tomato sauce, and juice from half of the lemon. Place the feta slices on top of everything and push them down just a little (if you're using crumbled feta, sprinkle over the tomato/kale/chickpea mixture). Give it a few grinds of black pepper. You could add salt at this point, but I've found the feta provides enough salt on its own.

Put the lid on the skillet and simmer for about 10 minutes or so, until the feta appears slightly melty. If it cooks longer and the feta looses shape, no worries, it will still taste good. Serve with the grilled or toasted bread and a glass of red.

This dish reheats well even though the feta pretty much melts into the sauce.