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.
I’m all about roasting my veggies for ratatouille and I love putting it in a savory crepe with goat cheese.
I never make savoury crepes, what a great idea. I need to get off my sweet kick, this is a great recipe to try.
I love these crepes. I haven’t been daring enough to try making crepes at home. May try now though!
oh I love the idea of putting roasted Ratatouille into a crepe! Brilliant!
We’ve been using goat cheese a lot in our house. It is just so delicious! I love savory crepes, and what better than a delicious ratatouille inside!
We love ratatouille and I love the idea of filling crepes with it! What a great summer bounty meal.
A great option to add a lot of flavor to the crepe.
I could pretty much reach a fork through my screen and take a huge bite right now. I LOVE savory crepes, but I just don’t make them as much as I should. But when I do, they almost always involve goat cheese 🙂
Oh I need one of these now! I love all roasted vegetables and ratatouille is one of my favorites! What a unique twist to put it in a savory crepe.
Ratatouille is something that I look forward to making every year towards the end of summer, it’s become something of a tradition in our kitchen. I love the idea of roasting the veggies, I think I’ll have to go that way when I make my next batch. I often use it in omelets, but I’d never thought of using it in a crepe (I do like savory crepes, though)! Two things on my list for my next batch of ratatouille.
The whole shebang looks amazing!