No Friday night pizza last night. We decided to take a little bit of a break from the delicious Big Green Egg pizza, and opted for a vegetable based meal instead. This ratatouille makes your tummy smile with how healthy it is, and your mouth water with how delicious it is! I was hesitant about including eggplant, I find the texture a bit offsetting but it's a good thing I didn't, because the textures and flavors all blend together to make an exquisite mix. I would say that this dish is pretty pleasing to the eye, at least it is before people dig in, and it was also super fun to make! It is almost like a work of art, I enjoyed carefully laying down each vegetable creating a spiral into the middle, all on top of a bed of crushed tomato and peppers sautéed with onion.
Until recently, I hadn't realized that ratatouille was an actual dish. I just thought it was the name of a movie, and as a young kid, I had missed the fact that they serve the dish at the end of the movie. I am so glad that after many years of living on this planet, and after months of cooking, I finally found out about this gem. I highly recommend to all of the vegetable lovers out there, and also to those who are willing to expand their palates to include vegetables, because they are so darn good.
There are a lot of things about this recipe that I love, but I think that at the top is the fact that the tomatoes, squash, zucchini, basil, parsley and thyme were all from our garden. All I had to do was walk outside, and voila, fresh vegetables and herbs! This recipe takes quite a bit of prep work, but trust me, all of the chopping and slicing is worth it.
Check out a time lapse of of the vegetable topping here!
Ingredients ~
VEGGIES
2 eggplants
6 roma tomatoes
2 yellow squashes
2 zucchinis
SAUCE
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, from 8-10 leaves
HERB SEASONING
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, from 8-10 leaves
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions ~
Preheat the oven for 375˚F (190˚C).
Slice the eggplant, tomatoes, squash, and zucchini into approximately ¹⁄₁₆-inch (1-mm) rounds, then set aside.
Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch (30-cm) oven-safe pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion, garlic, and bell peppers until soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add the crushed tomatoes. Stir until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Remove from heat, then add the basil. Stir once more, then smooth the surface of the sauce with a spatula.
Arrange the sliced veggies in alternating patterns, (for example, eggplant, tomato, squash, zucchini) on top of the sauce from the outer edge to the middle of the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
Make the herb seasoning: In a small bowl, mix together the basil, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Spoon the herb seasoning over the vegetables.
Cover the pan with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover, then bake for another 20 minutes, until the vegetables are softened.
Serve while hot as a main dish or side. The ratatouille is also excellent the next day--cover with foil and reheat in a 350˚F (180˚C) oven for 15 minutes, or simply microwave to desired temperature.
Enjoy!
Recipe From: Tasty
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