Caramelised Smashed Ratatouille with Butter Roast Chicken
& Creamy Anchovy Haricot Beans .
DIFFICULTY: Easy
PREP + COOK TIME: 2 hours
Ingredients
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Ingredients ✴
Smashed Ratatouille:
1 medium-sized eggplant, diced 3cm (about 350g)
1 ½ large (or 2 medium) courgettes, diced 3cm (about 300g)
1 ½ medium heirloom tomatoes, diced 4cm (or sub with 3 regular truss tomatoes)
1 large handful (30g) Italian flat-leaf parsley, thick stems removed
2 fat cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 Tbsp double-concentrate tomato paste
2 tsp harissa paste
1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar, to taste
Roast Chicken:
2 free-range skin-on chicken legs *see tip
1 ½ Tbsp salted butter, softened (about 2 tsp butter per chicken leg)
Salt & freshly cracked black pepper
½ cup (125ml) white wine or rose (I used a dry Riesling)
¼ - ½ cup chicken stock or water (plus more if needed)
Creamy Anchovy Beans:
1 medium shallot, very thinly sliced into rounds
2 fat cloves garlic, minced
2-3 whole anchovy fillets (to taste)
½ cup (125ml) white wine or rose (I used a dry Riesling)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
⅔ large 700g jar white haricot or cannellini beans (about 1 cup worth)
2 heaped Tbsp creme fraiche or full-fat sour cream
2 Tbsp Grana Padano powder (or about ¼ cup finely grated parmesan)
To Serve (optional):
Toasted pine nuts & finely chopped chives
Directions
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Directions ✴
Preheat your oven to 210°C fan bake. Position two racks evenly spaced in the oven (one for the ratatouille, and one for the chicken). Line a large oven tray with baking paper.
Smashed Ratatouille: Add the eggplant, courgette, tomato, parsley, garlic, tomato paste and harissa to a large bowl. Drizzle over 2 Tbsp of the olive oil and season with ¾ tsp fine salt. Toss everything together, until the vegetables are well coated. Spread over the lined oven tray in an even layer. Roast on the upper oven rack for about 30-35 minutes, or until the vegetables are very tender, golden and starting to caramelise.
Transfer the roasted vegetables to a large bowl and drizzle over the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil, and the balsamic vinegar (starting with 1 tsp). Using a large spoon or fork, mash and smash up the vegetables into a chunky spread. Season to taste with salt and more balsamic vinegar and olive oil, if needed. Set aside until ready to serve.
Roast Chicken: Pat the chicken legs dry with a paper towel and place in a medium roasting dish. Rub the chicken skin all over with the softened butter, then season well with salt and pepper. Pour the wine around the chicken in the roasting dish, followed by ¼ cup of the chicken stock. Roast on the lower oven rack for about 40-50 minutes, or until the chicken skin is very golden and crispy and the chicken is cooked through. You might need to swap around the oven trays to get the chicken skin nice and golden - if the liquid starts evaporating and caramelising too quickly in the roasting dish, add another ¼ cup chicken stock. You should have about ⅓ cup (80ml) worth of pan juices once the chicken has finished cooking.
Creamy Anchovy Beans: Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a medium frying pan on medium-low heat. Add the shallot and season with a pinch of salt. Fry the shallot for about 2-3 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and anchovies and cook for a further 1-2 minutes, stirring, until fragrant. Add the wine and mustard, stir together and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 2 minutes until reduced slightly, then add the beans (including the brine/liquid from the jar). Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 1 minute until the liquid has thickened slightly, then stir through the creme fraiche and Grana Padano. Season to taste with salt if needed and remove from the heat.
To Serve: Serve the creamy white beans topped with the smashed ratatouille, roasted chicken, pine nuts, chives and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Tip* If you are serving more people, you can roast 1-2 additional chicken legs in the roasting dish. You might just need to add a little more stock as it cooks, but don’t double the wine/stock amount.