Mixed summer vegetables ratatouille

Ratatouille, thanks to a 2007 Disney animated film is now a household name in America. It is also a great way, although the movie chef never gets to that particular recipe, to use a variety of summer vegetables. The dish originated in the Provence city of Nice and takes advantage of the abundance of zucchini, eggplants, peppers, tomatoes and onions grown in the region. As the name indicates, rata, a meal in colloquial French and touille, toss together, it is quite informal and easy to make. Although some cooks have taken the meaning quite literally and simply cook all the vegetables together, I am an advocate of sautéing the zucchini, eggplants and peppers separately, before adding the tomato and onion sauce. A major issue is the water content of most of the vegetables included in the recipe. To obtain a drier ratatouille, stir-fry.
There is an even simpler and dryer method, which I call “Lazy Ratatouille”. The secret is to bake all the sliced vegetable in a mixed layer. To change taste, instead of using the traditional mix of thyme rosemary and laurel, I sprinkle coriander seeds on top of a little olive oil. Lazy Ratatouille comes closer to another great classic of Provence: the “tian”. The term designates the heavy traditional ceramic cookware in which a mixture of vegetable and grated cheese is cooked.
Both ratatouille recipes serve four hot or cold and can be enjoyed on their own or as a side dish. Any grilled meat will do.

Ratatouille (Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 45 minutes, Cheap)

Ingredients:

For the ratatouille
1 large eggplant
3 medium zucchini
2 green bell pepper
3 tomatoes
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 sprig each of thyme and rosemary
1 laurel leave
3 tablespoons olive oil
A sprinkle of salt and pepper

Material:
Cutting board and paring knife
1 cookie sheet covered in parchment paper
1 frying pan
Ladle spoon
Colander
1 pan

Wash and slice the eggplant, zucchini and pepper. Set the frying pan with the oil on the stove and sauté each vegetable separately. With a ladle spoon, remove them and reserve in a colander. In the same pan sauté the minced onion and garlic, the two sprigs and the laurel leave.
Peel and remove the seeds of the tomatoes, by grilling them quickly on the stove. Cut them in small pieces. Add the tomatoes to the minced onion and garlic and cook until soft but not watery. Put the eggplant, zucchini and pepper back in the pan to cook for another minute or two. Remove the sprigs and serve hot or cold.

Lazy Ratatouille (Easy, Preparation time: 10 minutes, Cooking time unattended: ¾ of an hour, Cheap)

Ingredients:
2 onions
3 medium zucchini
2 medium eggplants
5 medium tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1tablespoon coriander seeds

Material:
1 baking sheet covered with parchment paper
1 cutting board and paring knife

Turn on the oven at 360F (180C).
Wash the zucchini, eggplants and tomatoes. Peel the onions. Cut the vegetables in half-inch slices. On the baking sheet, alternate one slice of zucchini, one of eggplant, one of tomato, one of onion until you run out. The slices should cover each other ¾ of the way. Drizzle the olive oil and finish up with the coriander seed.
Bake for half an hour to three quarter of an hour. The vegetable should not color. They can be served warm or at room temperature.