Weeknight Dinner: Ratatouille Boats

In Boston, we have the wonderful Haymarket a short T ride away (soon to be one block from my apartment–I cannot wait!) so I knew that finding the vegetables easily and cheaply (less than $4 for dinner) would make this an ideal meal. John and I made a day of it on Saturday. We like taking the T in early, wandering through the stalls, checking for the best prices, and then stopping at the stalls we like the best.

These boats tasted like summer. We each ate two, which is a whole zucchini; they were small though, so I cut down a lot on Rachael’s recipe. I didn’t cut down enough though, we had about 3/4 of a cup of ratatouille mixture leftover. Not like this is a problem, but I did try to adjust it so you can fill the boats without any leftovers.

Ratatouille Boats

Serves: 2 (2 zucchini)
2 zucchini
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 white onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2 eggplant
1 tomato
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup shredded mozzerella cheese

Split the zucchini in half (I did not peel the zucchini so make sure you thoroughly wash them). Using a melon baller (or a spoon), scoop out the flesh of the zucchini leaving about 1/2 inch of zucchini and the two sides in tact. Set both parts of the zucchini aside. Chop the onion and mince the garlic. In a large skillet, add one tablespoon of olive oil. Cook the onion about 5 minutes, until tender. Then, add the garlic and cook an additional 3 minutes. While this is cooking, cube the eggplant and mix with zucchini pieces. Add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the eggplant and zucchini to the skillet. Cook about 8 minutes, until zucchini and eggplant are tender. Chop the tomato into small pieces, and the parsley. Add the tomatoes and let the mixture cook down about 5 minutes. Add in the parsley and let simmer on low. Finally, brush the zucchini boat insides with olive oil and grill, insides down, for about 3-5 minutes, until tender. Add the ratatouille mixture into the zucchini “boats”. Top with mozzerella and serve immediately.

I want to tell you what I adapted in case you prefer Rachael’s way (besides cutting down to reduce leftover veggies). Rachael does not have you grilling the zucchini boats until the ratatouille mixture is already inside. But with my way, the inside gets softened a lot faster, and, more fully. Also, then there is no risk of the ratatouille falling out or spilling over the sides. I felt like the cheese easily melted on the hot ratatouille on its own. Put the skillet on the grill as well and you have a really easy meal to make without ever heating the house (and easy to clean up as well!).

The perfect weeknight meal that is truly summer in a boat! Or, on a boat! You get the idea…