Photograph by Grant Cornett Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero Prop Styling by Janine Iversen

Photograph by Grant Cornett Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero Prop Styling by Janine Iversen

Stevie Wonder

Summer Ratatouille

Mains from Issue 9 – Summer 2016 – The 1970s

In the ’70s Wonder lived up to his stage surname: His string of albums proved his virtuosity and ability to vault lyrically (from reflective romanticism to social realism) and musically (funk, afrobeat, jazz, classical). His multi-instrumentalism is the stuff of legend (on Talking Book‘s “Superstition” Wonder plays everything except horns and guitar) so for this one-man-band we did a one-pot-wonder: ratatouille with eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and summer squash.

serves 4 to 6

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium eggplant (about 1 lb), cut into 1½-inch chunks
2 bell peppers (1 red, 1 orange), seeded and cut into 6 wedges
1 zucchini, cut into 1½-inch chunks
1 summer squash, cut into 1½-inch chunks
2 small red onions, each cut into 8 wedges
3 cloves garlic, halved
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 lb small tomatoes, left whole
2 oz shishito peppers
1 handful basil
crusty bread for serving

1
Preheat oven to 400°F with racks set in the lower and upper thirds.
2
Add the oil to a large roasting pan and heat in the oven 5 minutes. Remove from oven and stir the eggplant, bell peppers, squashes, onions, garlic, and thyme into the hot oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast on the lower oven rack, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are browning on several sides, about 40 minutes.
3
Stir in the tomatoes, shishito peppers, and basil then roast on the upper oven rack, shaking the pan once or twice, until the tomatoes are bursting, about 20 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature with crusty bread.