Summer Ratatouille

I'm somewhat surprised that we've made it this far into the summer without having ratatouille. Both of us like it a lot, and even though I already have a basic recipe I like, I'm always trying other versions. This one came out well, although I ended up tweaking it fairly extensively.

We had it on some excellent egg noodles, left with us when some friends cleaned out their pantry prior to moving out of state.

Summer Ratatouille
adapted from Simply in Season

• 1 medium eggplant
• salt
  
• 2 onions, chopped
• 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 Tbs fresh basil, chopped (or 2 tsp dried)
• 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 - 1/4 C tomato paste
• 1 tsp fresh marjoram, chopped (or 1/2 tsp dried)
• 2 summer squash, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, any color, chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• pepper, to taste
  

Cut the eggplant into rounds and sprinkle both sides with salt. Place in the sink in a colander and allow to drain while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a large saucepan, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil until translucent, 5 - 8 minutes. Pat off the eggplant and chop it. Add the eggplant, basil, rosemary, salt, tomato paste, and marjoram to the saucepan, and simmer over medium heat until the eggplant is soft, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep from burning on the bottom.

Once the eggplant has softened, add the squash, peppers, and tomatoes. Continue to simmer until everything is tender, 10-15 minutes. Taste, and add pepper and additional salt if needed.

serves 4