Ratatouille With Creamy Polenta

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Step 2

Cut the eggplant into 1/2" dice and add to a colander placed on top of a plate. Season generously with sea salt and let it drain to remove bitterness. Then deseed and dice bell peppers, and zucchini, too.

Step 3

Add diced vegetables to 1-2 large baking sheets ensuring they are all in one layer and spread out a lot. You want to avoid steam building under the vegetables. Drizzle olive oil over all the vegetables and use your hands to evenly coat.

Step 4

Place the baking sheet(s) in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes tossing once in between to avoid burning on one side. (Set an alarm for this).

Step 5

Now is a good time to get started on the Creamy Polenta side dish: For that, bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan and once boiling add the cornmeal to it and whisk vigorously until it starts to thicken (this takes about 2 minutes). Once thick and no big clumps are visible anymore, reduce the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. (Set an alarm for this).

Step 6

Now, preheat a large pot over medium-low heat, and while it is heating finely chop the onion and garlic.

Step 7

Add a drizzle of olive oil to your hot pot and then add the chopped onion and garlic to it and sauté until translucent.

Step 8

In the meantime, cut the green parts off the tomatoes and quarter them, then add them together with some sea salt, pepper, thyme, and chopped rosemary to the translucent onions and let simmer, occasionally stirring, until the tomatoes melt and can easily be squished against the sides of the pot.

Step 9

By now your polenta should be cooked and it's time to add the grated Parmesan to it, give it a quick stir and cover again quickly and let sit for 10-15 minutes or until ready to serve.

Step 10

Once your roasted vegetables are ready add them to the tomatoes in the large pot and stir once or twice. This is a good time to give your stew a taste to see if it requires more sea salt or pepper.

Step 11

To serve, add butter to your polenta and stir until super creamy and serve at the bottom of a bowl. Then ladle the Ratatouille on top and enjoy!