Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Inspired by: Robin Broadfoot
If you can stand to turn the oven on in this hot weather, it should be for this delicious ratatouille. I first heard of the dish when watching the Disney movie called Ratatouille. In the movie, a crotchety food critic has a taste of a hero rat-turned-chef’s ratatouille dish and his heart melts and life is transformed! I figured if a dish could change someone that much I had to try it and so glad I did! Crank up your oven. It’s worth it!
Ingredients:
- Vegetables
- 2 small eggplants
- 6 medium sized tomatoes
- 2 yellow squashes
- 2 zucchinis
- Sauce
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bell pepper, diced pepper, to taste
- 1 oz can of crushed tomatoes (low sodium if you’re watching your sodium intake)
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil, about 8-10 leaves
- Herb Seasoning
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil, about 8-10 leaves
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tsp fresh thyme or oregano OR or 1 tsp dry thyme or oregano pepper, to taste
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 ̊F. Thinly slice eggplants, tomatoes, squash, and zucchini into rounds. Set aside.
2. Make the sauce: Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Sauté onion, garlic, and bell pepper until soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, add crushed tomatoes. Stir until ingredients are fully incorporated. Take off heat then stir in basil.
3. Add sauce to an oven-safe pan and smooth the top over so it’s fairly flat. Starting from the outer pan and then spiraling into the middle arrange sliced vegetables in an alternating pattern such as eggplant, tomato, squash, zucchini, repeat. Season with salt and pepper. In a rush? This dish tastes just as phenomenal if you toss all of the vegetables together in the pan. No spiraling necessary for an expedited feast! Cover pan with tin foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 20 minutes or until the vegetables are softened.
4. Mix the herb seasoning ingredients together and pour over the cooked ratatouille. Serve while hot as a main dish with bread or as a side with pasta. Enjoy!