A couple of weeks ago my family was on vacation in sunny southern California. Several friends commented on my instagram photos that it was unusually cool and rainy back home in Idaho. As much as I adore sunshine and beach weather, as a temperate-blooded Seattle girl, I couldn’t wait to get home to cooler temperatures. Turns out it was just a cruel joke by mother nature. Like much of the rest of the country, we came home to a heat wave.
A lot of people only pull out their slow-cookers in the fall and winter, but it’s actually one of my favorite cooking methods when the temperatures rise and it’s even too miserably hot to venture outside to the bbq to grill. It doesn’t put out a lot of heat in your house, and it’s super low maintenance. The great thing about this recipe that makes it absolutely perfect for summer is that it uses tons of vegetables, and most of these are ones I have growing in my yard. It’s a great way to use up those garden goodies! Even if you don’t have a garden yourself, these classic summer veggies are in season right now, which means they should be at low prices in stores as well.
Traditional ratatouille, cooked uncovered in the oven, relies on evaporation to get rid of the large amounts of moisture contained in the vegetables. If you just tossed all of the vegetables in a slow-cooker, a device designed to trap and contain heat and moisture, you’d get a watery mess. That’s what has turned me away from slow-cooker ratatouille recipes in the past, and what made me so excited to see a solution in a recent issue of Cook’s Country. Broiling the vegetables before popping them in the slow-cooker not only evaporates a lot of the excess liquid, but it adds flavor through caramelization. The result is an amazingly flavorful, thick vegetable stew. It may not be the prettiest dish (okay who am I kidding, it’s not pretty at all) but I will tell you- I could NOT stop eating this stuff. It was so perfect with a yummy loaf of crusty bread, and it made the perfect light summer meal. What amazed me the most, is that my kids ate it without a second thought. I told them it was soup, and didn’t mention it was straight-up 100% vegetables and none of them complained. I’m still sort of amazed by that. Maybe I forgot to feed them that day so they were unusually hungry. It happens.
Seriously though, I wish you could all come over to my house and eat a bowl of this because I know it just sounds like a bunch of vegetables tossed in a crock pot but trust me- it’s SO GOOD. Just try it. It’s good for you (bonus!). We’ll start with eggplant, zucchini (you could use some yellow squash too), red bell pepper, onion, and garlic.
Chop them up into big pieces and drizzle with olive oil, a little sugar, and some spices.
A signature flavor in this dish, and lots of French cooking, is herbs de Provence (Provence is a region in France). You can find it with the rest of the spices in the grocery store. It’s one of my favorite seasonings, a mix of yummy things like rosemary, savory, fennel, basil, thyme, and most uniquely, lavender.
You’ll spread out your veggies over 2 baking sheets and trust me, you’ll need both! This will look like a ridiculously large amount of food, but it cooks way, way down, so resist the urge to cut the recipe in half. Pop those under the broiler until they’re nice and golden brown and caramelized. If you have heat setting options on your broiler, I’d recommend using a medium heat so they can broil for a good 10 minutes or so. This step gets rid of lots of liquid and adds great color and flavor.
As soon as those veggies are done you can toss them in your slow-cooker along with a big can of diced tomatoes that have been drained. Next time I make this I’m going to experiment with fresh tomatoes, but the canned work great.
That all gets stirred together with a little flour (which will thicken the juices into a sauce as it cooks) and salt and pepper. Cook it on low for about 4 hours. I love this recipe for Sundays because we’re away at church for 3 hours, so I can start it cooking before we leave and it’s hot and yummy right when we get home (and the house smells like heaven.)
To finish, add in fresh chopped basil and grated Parmesan cheese. The original recipe calls for adding in additional olive oil at the end, but I didn’t feel like it needed that at all. I did however feel that it would benefit from just a bit of acidity so I added in a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and it was perfection.
I’m telling you, this is like pure summer in a bowl. Every yummy flavor of your garden all in one dish.
And it must, must be eaten with a big chunk of crusty bread.
This easily serves 8-10 as a side dish, and if you want to make it a more substantial meal, pair it with grilled cheese panini, or a ham and cheese sandwich and a salad. It also goes great with grilled chicken, fish, or steak. Or pasta. Okay, pretty much anything. And as one reader noted after eating it in France, it’s great served over something like couscous, rice, or pasta as well.
Slow-Cooker Ratatouille
Recipe very slightly adapted from Cook’s Country Aug/Sep 2013
Ingredients
2 pounds eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 zucchini (about 8 oz each), quartered lengthwise and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 onions, roughly chopped
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence*
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
If you don’t have any herbs de Provance, you can sub 1 teaspoon each of dried rosemary and dried thyme.
Instructions
Adjust oven rack 4 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. If you have different heat settings available on your broiler, set it to medium. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil. In a very large bowl, combine egg plant, zucchini, bell peppers, onions, olive oil, sugar, garlic, and herbs de Provence. Toss until combined.
Divide vegetables evenly between prepared sheets and spread into a single layer. Broil, 1 sheet at a time, until vegetables begin to brown, about 10 minutes (or faster, if your broiler has only one heat setting and it’s super hot!) While the veggies are broiling, turn them a couple times during the cooking process to evenly cook them. Transfer broiled vegetables to slow cooker and add tomatoes.
Stir flour, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper into vegetables in slow cooker. Cover and cook until veggies are tender, about 4 hours on low. Stir in balsamic vinegar, Parmesan, and basil. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Yields: about 8, 1-cup servings.
Questions & Reviews
Sara, making this right now and wishing that I could pick up the phone to call you. Can you even imagine what your life would be like if we all had your number..?.. no good. Hahaha so now that I sound like a creeper, the reason I’d call is because I really wanted to make this, so I started and realized I didn’t have bell peppers. An hour later I am home from the store, but now it is WAY too late to do this in the crock pot…so it is on my stove, I am wishing I had your advice, but I’ll let you know how it goes. I have it on low with the lid on. After broiling the veggies the house smells A-M-A-Z-I-N-G so we will see. If it is not as great as I dreamed…it’s my fault and I will try again the right way. Such a big emergency…I know. 🙂 Thanks for all the great recipes! I tried ratatouille for the first time about a month ago at a restaurant and fell in love, wishing I could make it at home and then this recipe appeared, you ladies are great!
Alright, the verdict…it worked! It is delish!! There was just a couple of changes I made because of food issues I have and preference. I wanted it to be a little more tomato-y and I can’t have flour, but I needed something to thicken up the sauce part of it, so I added one 6oz can of tomato paste and I can’t have sugar so I also added in some honey once I turned the stove off. Overall, very yummy, so excited to have this big pot of veggies for a few days!!
I was totally MIA during your emergency- I’m just now seeing this! I’ll have to give you my number so you can text next time 😉
I made this because I trust your taste; i’ve never had ratatouille before and eggplant done wrong is nasty. You were right. It was warm, comforting, and delicious. I am pleasantly surprised by just how good it is. My kids don’t care for it, which wasn’t a surprise; they avoid all of the ingredients whenever possible, but I’ll keep making it in the summer and someday they will realize just how good this is. Thanks for posting another great recipe! And to other readers: it’s definitely worth a try!
This was amazing! I had my doubts…but I am so glad I made it. Soooo good 🙂
I would not classify this recipe into the Dump and Go category. Although it is a great way to incorporate many of the bountiful vegetables of the summer, the recipe is more complicated than simply adding to a crock pot and turning it on for the day. I am thinking it was inappropriately listed in the featured category.
this was a great!!! I had never had it before – although I thought the eggplant didn’t hold up very well but it was nice to have something to do with it and not just let it sit there and go bad (we get it in our Bountiful Basket) – it was such a hit that my daughter asked for it for her birthday dinner tonight – so I’m back to get the recipe again!
Making this right now! It smells delicious, can’t wait to try it!
Yum! I made this for family on a gluten/dairy-free diet, so I subbed 2 T. cornstarch for the flour and left out the parmesan. Divine! The pickiest (seven year-old) eater in the bunch raved over the sauce. What a keeper! And it does feed a crowd. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers with some cheese. 🙂
I have never known what to do with eggplant…and now I do! Made it for dinner tonight. It is beastly ugly to look at, but tasty. I left my vegetables under the broiler until they were quite black (maybe 15 mins with some spatula tosses), so my finished project is very dark and caramelized.
AMAZINg giveaway wow! I came to find a dinner recipe but think i’ll try my luck first 😉
My favorite thing about my lil baby guy right now (who will turn one next week) is the way he tries to talk with us. it is absolutely hilarious how serious his face is when babbling something to us as if we understand and his face light up when we smile. Love.
I am making this right now and it smells DIVINE. Only 2 hours into cooking, but I had to sneak a taste and it left me drooling!
Do you peel the eggplant?
Nope, no need 🙂
I LOVE when you can start having conversations with your kids. My 3 year old is my little sidekick! We talk and talk all day long. It’s the cutest most amazing thing to me the conversations she can have. I also love the 1-18months stage where they’ve discovered the world and again start using the cutest little words!
A friend once served ratatouille to me on pizza. It is delicious!
Just made this for dinner using our electric pressure cooker. Followed the recipe except my eggplant was bad so replaced with yellow summer squash then put it in my electric pressure cooker on high pressure for 40 minutes and did a quick pressure release. Great texture, beautiful color, and delicious flavor! Thanks for the recipe!
My family loves to eat ratatouille served over cheesy polenta; it is one of our favorite meals. I cook a batch of polenta, spread half of it in a pyrex dish, cover with sliced or grated mozzarella cheese, then top if off with the remaining polenta. Let the polenta sit a while to firm up then bake at 350 for about 20 minutes to rewarm and help the polenta further solidify. Slice into squares and spoon the ratatouille over top each person’s serving. It’s so yummy!
Thank you, thank you for a great dinner idea tonight! We have been traveling for a week (read eating out, A LOT) and I was so happy to see this and make it. Even better, my picky kids devoured it! Cheers to kids eating veggies and loving it 🙂
I love when you guys post vegetarian recipes, this looks delicious!
I don’t keep Herbs de Provence on hand. I use Emeril Legasse’s recipe whenever I need it – equal parts oregano, basil, fennel, savory, marjoram, thyme, and rosemary. It is wonderful. I have seen herbs de Provence recipes with or without lavender, so you could probably add a bit of that, too, if you wanted.
All those fresh veggies look killer!
The crusty bread in your picture looks so good. Did you make it yourself? I like the convenience of buying French bread at the grocery stores but I don’t like the quality. Is there a good bakery that makes good crusty bread? I live in Utah. Anybody?
French bread in SLC, UT – Gourmandise or Eva’s Bakery
crumb brothers! best. bread. ever.
I bought the one in this photo. My local grocery stores have terrific selections in the bakery section. Many national chains sell Le Brea, which is always really yummy, and I love par-baked breads you can buy at the grocery store and finish baking at home. If you want to bake your own, my absolute favorite to serve with this (that in bread terms is really quick and easy) is our Rosemary Focaccia Loaves.
Any ideas if you aren’t an eggplant person? Otherwise it sounds SO good!
I love ratatouille and have made a similar version for many years. If the eggplant in the store looks pathetic, I just use extra zucchini to replace it.
This may sound like a lame question, but is this served hot? Or could you do it cold like a gazpacho?
It’s usually served hot, but I ate some cold and it was still delish 🙂 Because of the flour, it thickens quite a bit when chilled, so I prefer it hot.
I fell in love with Ratatouille when I was a missionary in France. It is the perfect summer dish. I’m excited to try it in a slow cooker. I remember the first time I was served it was over couscous. It is very good that way but a crusty loaf of bread works well too.
ooh, that’s a good idea- I bet it’s great over couscous!
So our broiler has two settings: high and low. Would low be preferable to high in that case?
Yum! I love using my slow cooker in the summer too! It definitely keeps it cooler in the kitchen!
This sounds awesome, I love it!
What a great way to use all the summer veggies coming in right now. I love finding new ways to use what is in my garden.
This does sound yummy and perfect for the Summer veggie season. Could I use corn starch to thicken it? (Hubby has a wheat allergy)
I was wondering the same thing. I know corn starch and flour are both used for thickening, but don’t know how interchangeable they are.
You’d have to experiment with that, I’m not sure.
This sounds truly perfect for summer. Lovely recipe!
This sounds amazing! I have a ton of tomatoes from my garden. Do you think I should try broiling them with the rest if the veggies, or just stick them in the crock pot raw? It just kills me to think of using canned when I have so many fresh.
I’m with Carie. We have tons of cherry tomatoes, but wondering if they should be cut in half and broiled or just tossed in slow cooker.
I know! If you’ve ever read Cook’s Country, you know they test EVERYTHING in a recipe, and the author tested this with tomato paste, fresh tomatoes, and canned tomatoes, and the canned worked best so that’s what the recipe was designed around. But I think with some experimenting, fresh would work great too. My tomatoes are just barely turning red, so in the next couple of weeks I’ll be able to try it out and see!