Ratatouille is one of my favorite summertime dishes – the richly layered stew of vegetables is a great way to take advantage of the abundant produce that’s available this time of year. It’s simple to make and incredibly versatile: toss it into pasta, serve it over soft polenta, stir into an omelet, or pile it onto a pita for an impromptu pizza.
Serving ratatouille in a crêpe is something I never would have thought of on my own – the whole concept of savory crêpes is pretty new to me – so you can thank Sara Moulton for this one.
Sara is going to be the keynote speaker at the Food and Wine Conference later this month and this week the #SundaySupper crew is sharing recipes inspired by hers. (I unfortunately can’t attend the conference and I have to admit that I’m a little jealous of my friends who will be there – Sara is one of the first chefs I remember watching on television and I love her straightforward, simple style of cooking.)
Instead of cooking the ratatouille on the stove, Sara came up with the idea of roasting the vegetables. Roasting them concentrates their flavor and makes the ratatouille extra delicious. Plus, you get to add roasted garlic to it, which doesn’t even compare at all to regular old garlic. Although it only takes a few minutes of actual work, roasting the dish does mean that this take a little longer than normal to prepare. Luckily, it’s easy to split to work over two days by making the ratatouille one night and filling the crêpes the next.
If you don’t like goat cheese, try it with feta or mozzarella!
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant stem end cut off
- 2 medium zucchini trimmed
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 large plum tomatoes quartered
- 1 large red bell pepper quartered
- 1 large onion quartered
- 1 head garlic
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- ½ cup shredded fresh basil
- 4 ounces goat cheese chrevre, crumbled
- 6 prepared crêpes 9-inch
Instructions
- Cut the eggplant into 1-inch cubes and the zucchini into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Toss with 2 teaspoons salt and place in a large colander. Set a plate on top and place the colander inside a large bowl or in the sink. Set aside at room temperature and drain for 30 minutes. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel and gently squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
- Heat the oven to 450°F. Add the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, bell pepper, and onion in a shallow roasting pan large enough to fit all of the vegetables in one flat layer. Cut a 1/4-inch slice off the root of the head of garlic and place the garlic in the center of a large square of foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Bring up the corners of the foil and crimp to seal tightly. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over the vegetables and add the thyme; season with salt and pepper and place in the oven with the wrapped garlic on the oven rack next to the roasting pan. Roast, stirring often, until the onions are browned around the edges and the peppers are crinkly, about 45 minutes.
- Transfer the roasted vegetables to a large bowl and cool. Unwrap the garlic and cool. Finely chop the vegetables; stir in the basil. Pull the garlic apart and squeeze the pulp from the individual cloves onto the vegetables; stir well. Crumble in the goat cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Spoon about 1/2 cup of ratatouille into each crepe. Serve at room temperate or place on a baking sheet and crisp in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes.
Where is the recipe? Please email me the recipe. Thanks!
This was totally delicious. When I saw this recipe I knew that roasting would make the flavors more intense than a traditional ratatouille. I roasted the vegetable about 15 minutes longer than called for, but the roasting pan I used was a bit crowded. Next time I’ll spread things out a bit more and use rimmed baking sheets. I put the warm vegetables in a food processor and pulsed them a few times to create a puree. The goat cheese easily melted into to the warm puree. A garnish of diced tomatoes and parsley contrasted nicely with the crepes/filling.
I am one of those people that find goat cheese the most revolting flavour on the planet. Even if i see the two words goat and cheese together i cringe. We had ratatouille crepes at a farmers market in fl. And they put asiago cheese in it and shredded chicken, it was to die for.
I adore goat cheese (although I’d admit some are stronger than others and can be a bit much) but I’m sure this would be amazing with asiago, too!
Many, many years ago, I loved eating at a now-defunct chain called The Magic Pan. It was all about crepes. My favorite what their ratatouille crepes. Can’t wait to try these!
I used to love Magic Pan too when i was a kid.
LOVE ratatouille… we used to put it n omelets so i bet a crepe would be perfect
Mmm I love ratatouille! Especially in the summer when zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes are abundant. I never would have guessed making a crepe either!