Roasted Ratatouille over Polenta
Oven-roasted ratatouille over polenta! The perfect meal to bridge summer and fall. Roasted eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, and peppers served over cheesy, creamy polenta.
This is the easiest way to prepare ratatouille! Chop all your vegetables, then toss them into a roasting pan with plenty of olive oil, salt, and pepper, and let the oven do its magic.
Served over quick polenta, this is a hearty, delicious way to eat your vegetables!
Why I love this recipe
This is the recipe I make every year around this time, when my garden is overflowing with zucchini, eggplant, and bell peppers.
It’s just as delicious as other ratatouille recipes, but so much easier. No fancy fluting, just throwing everything into the roasting pan along with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then, roast until very tender and enjoy.
It’s great over polenta, as shown here, or try it mixed with pasta or crusty bread for soaking up all of the yummy juices.
Ingredient Notes
The great thing about this roasted ratatouille recipe is that it’s very forgiving. You don’t have to be too precise with the ingredient amounts, and you can adjust the ratio of vegetables to suit your taste and what you have on hand.
Eggplant, tomato, and zucchini are classics, and I added in red bell pepper, onion, and garlic for extra flavor.
To help brighten the vegetables and add some acidity, I added a splash of vinegar to the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Since you are using quite a bit of olive oil, regular extra-virgin olive oil works here. It doesn’t have to be the expensive, drizzling kind.
How to Make
Step 1: Prep the Vegetables
Cut the vegetables and place them in a large roasting pan. I use a 9 x 13 inch pan, but you can use a larger pan to increase surface area. If you want to use a smaller pan, then I’d recommend reducing the amount of vegetables or dividing them into two pans.
Step 2: Toss with Olive Oil
Liberally drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables, along with the salt, pepper and vinegar. Using your hands (or a spoon), toss the vegetables with the seasonings and olive oil until very well coated.
Place in the oven and roast for 90-120 minutes, removing the vegetables every 30 minutes or so to stir. You can continue to push the vegetables longer if you’d like. I’ve cooked vegetables like this for almost 3 hours some days! Stop when you get the desired consistency you want.
Step 3: Make the Polenta
Whisk together the polenta, salt and water and cook for 10 minutes until the polenta starts to rehydrate, stirring often to prevent sticking.
Slowly whisk in the milk and cook over low heat, stirring often, until the polenta is very soft and creamy. Depending on the preferred texture, you can add more milk (or water).
Off heat, stir in the parmesan cheese. Doing this off heat will prevent the cheese from clumping when added to the warm polenta!
Step 4: Serve
Spoon the polenta into the bottom of a bowl, then top with the roasted ratatouille. Garnish with fresh basil and more grated Parmesan cheese, and serve immediately. The polenta will thicken as it cools, so if you make this ahead of time, you will need to add more liquid before serving.
Chef Tips for Success
- The roasting process is very forgiving, and I’ve made this roasted ratatouille several different ways depending on what I have in my garden. You want a balance of vegetables, but don’t sweat it if you have more zucchini, less tomatoes, ect.
- The roasted ratatouille can easily be doubled or tripled! This is an excellent recipe for a crowd, as it’s mostly hands-off, and I often serve it for dinner parties.
- The vegetables are done when the liquid is mostly reduced and the ratatouille is stew-like and thick. Go by visual cues for doneness and not time.
- Polenta will cool as it sits, so you may need to add more liquid if you make the polenta ahead of time.
- If you have any leftover ratatouille, use it in my ratatouille orzo!
More Eggplant Recipes:
- Eggplant Lasagna
- Pasta alla Norma
- Eggplant Gyros
- Eggplant Bolognese Pasta
- Sicilian Caponata Pasta
- Baked Vegetarian Ziti
- Easy Baba Ganoush
If you try this roasted ratatouille over polenta, make sure to come back to leave a comment or a rating. Your feedback helps other readers, and seeing you make my recipes makes my day!
Roasted Ratatouille over Polenta
Equipment
IngredientsÂ
Roasted Ratatouille
- 1 large eggplant, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 2-3 each tomatoes, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 2 each zucchini , chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 each yellow or white onion, chopped
- 3 garlic thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Polenta
- 2 cups dry polenta
- 5 cups water
- 4 cups milk of choice
- 3/4-1 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter or non-dairy butter
- 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Make the Ratatouille
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large roasting pan, place all of the cut vegetables, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper together. Using your hands or tongs, toss everything together so the vegetables are well coated.
- Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, then stir well. Place back in the oven and cook for another 45 minutes, removing and stirring again.
- Keep cooking, stirring every 30 minutes or so, until the vegetables are very tender and the juices around the vegetables start to reduce and thicken. Depending on the size of your roasting pan, this can take two hours or so. Taste, adjusting the seasoning, adding more vinegar, salt, pepper as desired.
Make the Polenta
- About 15-20 minutes before you think the polenta will be done, start to make the polenta.
- Whiskthe polenta, water, and salt in a medium saucepan and simmerover medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Reduce to low and whisk in the milk, stirring occasionallyuntil very creamy and loose. The polenta will continue to thicken as it sits.Stir in the butter and taste for seasoning, adding more salt asdesired. If desired, add in the parmesan cheese.
Serve!
- Divide the polenta into six bowls and top with the polenta