I might need to change the name of my blog to "Deliberately Roasted Vegetables" here soon seeing as it seems that's all I write about lately... but I'm not bored with them yet so I hope you're no either. It seems everyone is in "healthy eating" mode with the start of the New Year and this is a satisfying way to work in some heart healthy protein and a whole bunch of veggies. I promise you won't miss the carbs but a big slice of whole grain garlic toast rubbed with garlic and sprinkled with olive oil would fix you right up if you did. Roasted Ratatouille: (serves 4) 1 small/medium sized eggplant- sliced and cut into 3/4 inch pieces 2 medium sized zucchini squashes- cut into 3/4 inch pieces 1 cup of grape or cherry tomatoes- whole 1 bulb of fresh fennel- halved lengthwise and sliced into half inch slices 4 large cloves of garlic- thinly sliced 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar 8 sprigs of fresh thyme- leaves removed from stems 6 large leaves of fresh basil- sliced thinly 1 tablespoon of the fennel fronds- roughly chopped 1 generous teaspoon of kosher salt and some black pepper Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place two large baking/cookie sheets in the oven. Meanwhile, toss the eggplant, zucchini and fennel in a bowl with the olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. NOTE: I actually did the eggplant in a separate bowl so that it wouldn't hog the olive oil from the other veggies.
Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and spray lightly with Pam before spreading the veggies out. I put the eggplant on one and the zucchini and fennel on the other. The hot pan ensures that you get a nice brown crust and reduces the cooking time slightly. I think you need two pans to give the vegetables plenty of room to caramelize nicely. Next, toss the tomatoes in one of the bowls with a drizzle of oil and the sliced garlic. After 15 minutes I removed the pans from the oven and stirred/flipped the vegetables and added the tomatoes and garlic to the pan with the zucchini and fennel. I cooked it for another 10-15 minutes until the zucchini was tender and the tomatoes had softened.
A benefit to cooking the eggplant on its own pan is to ensure it doesn't sop up the juices of the other vegetables and become soggy. Once the vegetables had all cooked through, I tossed them in a large bowl with the balsamic, basil and fennel fronds. (I gave the tomatoes a little squish on the baking sheet first to break the skins, creating a "sauce" for the mixture. I also picked out a few of the skins that had come loose.)
I let the veggies hang out while I seared the salmon. I sprinkled the skinless filets with salt and pepper and then seared them in a skillet - with a drizzle of olive oil- over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes per side until toasty and
barely cooked through. They will continue to cook once you take them off the heat so air on the medium rare side to avoid it getting tough.
I served the salmon over/beside a heaping scoop of the ratatouille e voila! A snap to throw together on a weeknight or something worthy of a great bottle of pinot noir to share with company.
Posts
Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and spray lightly with Pam before spreading the veggies out. I put the eggplant on one and the zucchini and fennel on the other. The hot pan ensures that you get a nice brown crust and reduces the cooking time slightly. I think you need two pans to give the vegetables plenty of room to caramelize nicely. Next, toss the tomatoes in one of the bowls with a drizzle of oil and the sliced garlic. After 15 minutes I removed the pans from the oven and stirred/flipped the vegetables and added the tomatoes and garlic to the pan with the zucchini and fennel. I cooked it for another 10-15 minutes until the zucchini was tender and the tomatoes had softened. 
A benefit to cooking the eggplant on its own pan is to ensure it doesn't sop up the juices of the other vegetables and become soggy. Once the vegetables had all cooked through, I tossed them in a large bowl with the balsamic, basil and fennel fronds. (I gave the tomatoes a little squish on the baking sheet first to break the skins, creating a "sauce" for the mixture. I also picked out a few of the skins that had come loose.) 
I let the veggies hang out while I seared the salmon. I sprinkled the skinless filets with salt and pepper and then seared them in a skillet - with a drizzle of olive oil- over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes per side until toasty and barely cooked through. They will continue to cook once you take them off the heat so air on the medium rare side to avoid it getting tough. 
I served the salmon over/beside a heaping scoop of the ratatouille e voila! A snap to throw together on a weeknight or something worthy of a great bottle of pinot noir to share with company. 
No comments:
Post a Comment