Rat-a-tat-touille with Roasted Chickpeas

When I was a kid, my favorite summer snack was a big honkin' beefsteak tomato plucked off the windowsill on a hot day.  I'd sit down with a paper towel, a salt shaker and my tomato.  Then I'd salt a spot, take a bite, wipe the drips and repeat, until all that was left was that pesky stem end and tomato juice on my elbows.  Tomatoes just scream summer! 

Now that I'm a grownup  (Stop laughing!),  I'll cook tomatoes  just about any way I can.  So this recipe is really just an excuse to eat a tomato.  As soon as the weather gets nice (and I think mid-90s in May counts as nice), I start to think about ratatouille. I do not like eggplant, except when it is turned into ratatouille. But when zucchini is huge and cheap at the end of the summer, you don't even need the eggplant.  Honestly, I can't decide if I like this recipe better with or without it.  All I know if that I'm glad my kids don't eat it, because I get it all to myself.

Rat-a-tat-touille

1/4 c olive oil (sounds excessive, but the oil helps your body use the lycopene in the tomatoes, and this is a meatless dish)
2 sweet onions, such as Vidalia, halved and sliced
4 uglyripe or heirloom or beefsteak tomatoes, quartered and seeded.  (If you have more, by all means use 6)
1 eggplant, sliced thinly into half-rounds
4 zucchinis, sliced into 1/4" rounds (or 6 to 8 zucchini, if you omit the eggplant)
3 bell peppers, seeded and sliced (I prefer red)
2 + garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 bunch of basil or flat leaf parsely, coarsely chopped. 
sea salt

Heat half the oil in a dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed cook pot that will accommodate all the veggies.  Cook the onions over med-low heat until soft and golden. Then add the eggplant and peppers and cook for a few minutes. Drop in the rest of the oil and salt the veggies liberally. The zucchini and tomatoes then jump in with the garlic. (To seed the tomatoes, just squeeze them as you chop them and wipe the seeds away with a spoon.). Cover the pot and cook on low heat for about 45 minutes.  At the last minute, stir in the basil and/or parsley and adjust the seasoning.  Tastes great cooled to room temp alongside roasted chickpeas.


Roasted Chickpeas

Short of eating canned soup, this just might be the easiest recipe ever. 

2 t dried rosemary or 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 t sea salt
2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 to 2 T olive oil

Crush the dried rosemary, or chop the fresh rosemary and mix it into the salt in a little ramekin or monkey dish.  Toss the chickpeas with the oil and seasonings and spread on a baking sheet.  Roast in a 400 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes.  Serve hot. 

Now, if you are feeling really adventurous, you can toss the chickpeas into the ratatatouille for a little change of texture, but that's only if you have gone completely garbanzo or want to really fly your culinary freak flag.  (Thanks, guys--you know who you are.)