Baked Lemon Ratatouille with Chicken
This low-fuss version bakes in the oven. Serve with rice and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
This low-fuss version bakes in the oven. Serve with rice and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon sage (fresh) chopped
- 2 teaspoons lemon peel grated
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper freshly ground
- 1/3 cup olive oil divided
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 medium eggplant peeled, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 3 medium tomatoes seeded and chopped
- 2 medium zucchini cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 small red bell peppers cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons parsley (fresh) chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Carbohydrate 19.7610290308379 g
- Cholesterol 94.120416775 mg
- Fat 9.83585960544778 g
- Fiber 8.31849866426711 g
- Protein 26.5138024120841 g
- Saturated Fat 1.95464425478764 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (493g)
- Sodium 117.576582146584 mg
- Sugar 11.4425303665708 g
- Trans Fat 1.24901170814211 g
- Calories 264 calories
Step-by-step
- In small bowl, stir together sage, lemon peel, salt and pepper.
- Heat oven to 450F. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in shallow large roasting pan in oven 30 to 60 seconds or until hot. Add chicken; bake 10 to 15 minutes or until browned on all sides, turning once or twice.
- Reduce heat to 350F; sprinkle chicken with 1 tablespoon of the sage mixture. Add eggplant and onion to pan; sprinkle with half of the remaining sage mixture. Add tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers and garlic; sprinkle with remaining sage mixture. Drizzle remaining oil evenly over top.
- Bake 1 hour or until vegetables are tender, stirring gently after 45 minutes and tipping pan to pool juices in corner; spoon juices over vegetables. (Don't panic if vegetables haven't cooked down, they will in the last 15 minutes) During last 5 minutes, stir in parsley and lemon juice.
- Serve in shallow bowls with rice. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Substituting boneless chicken thighs for traditional pork or leaving the meat out entirely shifts this Provencal stew from a side dish into a complete protein meal. Traditional ratatouille relies on simmering vegetables separately on a stovetop, but oven-roasting concentrates the natural sugars of tomatoes, bell peppers, and eggplant without burning them. Roasting concentrates moisture rapidly at high temperatures.
The Provenal Origins of Oven Ratatouille
Classic ratatouille originated in Nice as a frugal dish for summer gardeners using excess squash, tomatoes, and herbs. Standard methods require sweating each vegetable individually in olive oil before combining them. Baking the entire mixture in a single roasting pan simplifies the technique while maintaining the integrity of the individual components. Seed the tomatoes before chopping to prevent excess liquid from turning the stew watery during the initial bake.
Equipment and Baking Dynamics
A shallow large roasting pan allows maximum surface area exposure for browning the chicken at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Metal pans conduct heat more efficiently than glass or ceramic dishes, ensuring the poultry browns within 15 minutes before the temperature drops to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for the vegetable phase. If your roasting pan lacks sufficient surface area, divide the chicken and vegetables between two smaller baking dishes rather than overcrowding a single vessel, which causes steaming instead of roasting.
