Roasted Ratatouille from the garden
When I'm not blogging here or at What Do I Know?, I'm writing fiction as Kathryn Barrett. Recently my first novel, Temptation, was released. It's about a Hollywood actress who moves to Pennsylvania to film a movie set in Amish country. Laura quickly becomes enamored of the simple life, the unexpected calm she finds there in the farming community. And when her handsome neighbor suggests she take up gardening, she embraces the idea with passion.
And just like in the Garden of Eden, all is not well...there's a lot of temptation there amongst the lettuce, and even a snake. And a cute kitten.
By the time the film is completed in the fall, Laura's garden is full of organic goodness: a bounty she shares with her new friends at a barnraising.
Throughout the summer Laura experiments with recipes from her garden. She makes pesto with the sensuous basil, ratatouille from the luscious eggplant, loaves of bread with the zucchini-that-won't-quit.
Here's her recipe for Garden of Eden Roasted Ratatouille.
It's really a delicious way to use up garden produce, or the bag of produce on sale at the supermarket. Don't be tempted (!) to skip on the long roasting time; it's the long spell in the oven that really dispels the sweetness and flavor in those cherry tomatoes. By the time it's done your house will smell like an herb garden in summer, and you'll be ready to plant your own vegetable garden.
It's easy to adapt, too, to larger portions: I'd suggest using two separate roasting pans or dishes if you're using more than the ingredients called for, to avoid having to stir them around too often. (I used a 13 x 9 inch Pyrex dish; you could also use a baking sheet covered with foil.)
Happy eating, and if you want to read more about Temptation, check out my author website or download it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Kobo.