Roasted eggplant & tomato sauce

This post has been sitting in draft form for over a month. I'm publishing it today, although in my part of the world we're past the season when we harvest eggplants and tomatoes from our home gardens or buy them at farmers markets. But I do want to share this recipe now (if it appeals to you, mark it to try later) because it's simple, tasty, nourishing, and very much in the spirit of An Honest Kitchen, which has been inspiring my new way of cooking.

A variation of Culinate's recipe for Eggplant and Ricotta Sauce, Sicilian-Style.

My modifications; I used:

1) More eggplant, fewer tomatoes
2) Heirloom tomatoes (Black Prince, Amish Gold) instead of Italian Plum
3) Martha Rose Shulman's method to roast the eggplant
4) Lots of golden oregano, fresh from the balcony, during cooking
5) No cheese

Addendum, November 8th: After I let this post sit in my drafts folder for over a month, I then rushed to edit and publish it -- and forgot to tell you how and with what I ate this sauce. You may be able to tell from the half-filled bowl in the middle photo I sampled quite a bit.  And rather than cook pasta, I simply warmed some pita breads cut in half, spread them with hummus and then generously filled them with the thick sauce. A very tasty and simple lunch, rounded off with a serving a yogurt and piece of fresh fruit.

Aubergine, courgette & tomate

As an English-speaking Canadian, I really should say "eggplant, zucchini and tomato" but I prefer the terms in the title. I think they're more appetizing and certainly more fun to say. Here's one of my favourite recipes featuring this summer vegetable trio. It's very simple: just pick your vegetables from the garden or farmers' market, then wash, chop, toss, season, roast, and savour. 

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Big Batch Oven Roasted Ratatouille
from Dietitians of Canada’s Simply Great Food

Serves: 12
Preparation time: 20 minutes/ Cooking time: 30 minutes
Preheat oven to 450 deg F (230 deg C)
16-by 12-inch (40 by 30 cm) shallow roasting pan

4 tomatoes, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 small Italian eggplants, cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) rounds
4 small zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) rounds
1 red or orange bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 large red onion, cut into chunks
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 small bunch fresh basil, roughly torn
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, garlic, eggplants, zucchini, peppers, & red onion. Add olive oil & toss to coat. Transfer to roasting pan & season to taste with salt & pepper.
2. Roast on the top rack of preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Stir & roast uncovered for another 15 minutes or until vegetables are just soft & tinged brown on the edges.
3. Transfer to a serving bowl & stir in basil. Sprinkle with cheese.

Serving idea: Serve warm over whole wheat spaghetti with grated Parmesan cheese.

Variation: if you make this recipe in the winter, when tomatoes are lacking in flavour, substitute whole, drained, canned tomatoes.

Planned Extras: This recipe allows for extra servings that you can use as a filler for vegetable lasagna.

(My variation:  Optional ingredients: 1 19-ounce (540 mL) can white beans, drained & rinsed; 1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped.  Add beans half-way through roasting the vegetables.  Stir in parsley with the basil.

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Nutrients per Serving (about 1 to 1-1/2 cups per serving)

Calories (kcal)	82.6		Thiamin (mg)	0.1
Fat (g)	5.0		Riboflavin (mg)	0.1
Protein (g)	3.3		Niacin (ne)	1.5
Carbohydrate (g)	7.7		Folate (μg)	33.3
Sugar (g)	3.4		Vitamin B6 (mg)	0.2
Fibre (g)	2.2		Vitamin B12 (μg)	0.1
Vitamin A (μg)	50.3		Calcium (mg)	69
Vitamin C (mg)	67.9		Iron (mg)	0.6
Vitamin D (μg)	0		Sodium (mg)	75.6
Vitamin E (mg)	1.1		Potassium (mg)	353.8

Nutrient analysis performed using Dietitians of Canada’s Recipe Analyzer.

Canada’s Food Guide Servings (per one serving of recipe)

Vegetables and Fruit	2
Grain Products	0
Milk and Alternatives	1/8
Meat and Alternatives	0

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Do you have a favourite Ratatouille or other recipe that features these summer vegetables? Please share in the comments below.