Confession: my sisters and I are Disney fanatics. Our family often ridicules us for our uncanny ability to quote nearly entire movies (just the classics) and sing along with all the songs. So naturally, when fall came around and all these yummy veggies started popping up everywhere, I, without hesitation, bought all I could find and replayed Ratatouille the movie in my mind while searching desperately for my mandolin (which I never found… I hate moving!)
But even sans mandolin, I was determined to make this ratatouille happen (a very sharp knife will do the trick). Turned out to be delicious and rather appropriate to post today, on my little sister’s birthday, since she’s definitely the biggest Disney fanatic of us all. Happy birthday Dannie!! Oh and now that you’re a teacher (ewwwww you’re a grownup!), this’ll be an easy recipe to just pop in the oven while you grade those papers. (Though I’m sure you’ll just tell me to come make it for you…) Haha! Love you!
The sad part is (besides the vanished mandolin, still nowhere to be found), both Dannie and Jaya are in Atlanta and my darling husband is so not the one to share nostalgic Disney moments with. I often question the quality of his childhood as I’m constantly reminding him that Mulan is the Asian princess, not Pocahontas, and there are at least 173 reasons why The Lion King is the best movie ever (just 1, not 2, but 1 1/2 was hilarious) with Aladdin being a very close second (I always wanted to be Princess Jasmine… you know, on the days that I wasn’t out playing flag football with the boys). It’s to the point now that I have to ask him if he’s actually seen a movie before making any references. (Usually, it’s a no.) It hurts my heart, truly. The obligatory marathon is forthcoming. DANNIE I NEED YOUUUU!!!
Now, I realize ratatouille is a traditional French dish. However, somehow I ended up going all Italian on it… possibly because red sauce automatically sends me to Tuscany (blame my study abroad). Hence, all the garlic and basil… Oops. It was good though!
Serve over rice or with some delicious bread, like this garlicy, herby focaccia. Enjoy!
- 1 small eggplant
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 medium yellow squash
- 1 red bell pepper
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 1 small yellow onion
- 3 cups tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
- 3-4 springs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Salt
- Pepper
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the inside of a 2 quart baking dish, 10 or 11 inches long (you'll need this later).
- Next, start thinly slicing all of your vegetables (about ¼" thick). For best, most consistent results, use a mandolin. If you don't have (or can't find... ugh!) one, use a very sharp knife to thinly slice the vegetables. Don't worry about peeling the eggplant, zucchini or squash; the peel actually helps them retain their structure while baking in the sauce! To slice the bell pepper, carefully slice off the very top and very bottom so that it looks like a tube. Then use a sharp paring knife to "gut" the membranes and seeds inside. Once the pepper is cleaned out, you can slice the pepper into thin rings, aiming for the same width as the rest of your veggies.
- Then, slice your garlic and dice up your onion. When all the veggies are prepped, congrats! The hard work is done!
- Pour your marinara sauce into your baking dish so that the bottom of the dish is completely covered. Add in your garlic, onion, herbs and crushed red pepper, stirring to combine, and then smoothing the sauce into an even layer. Now, the fun part!
- Arrange the veggie slices around the dish, alternating vegetables as you go. You might have some extra veggies left over, and that's ok; just use what fits. When everything is in the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and then cover with the parchment paper you cut earlier (this keeps the top edges of the veggies from burning).
- Bake for 45-55 minutes until the veggies are cooked through but still in tact and the tomato sauce is bubbling up around them. If you want to go super Italian, sprinkle the top with a bit of freshly grated parmesan cheese (and watch it melt all over the veggies.... YUMMY!)
goodfoodmarsh says
November 14, 2014 at 3:31 pmOh WOW. Your ratatouille looks absolutely glorious! Loving the Italian twist to such a classic dish & the addition of red pepper is definitely something I’m going to incorporate the next time I make it. I absolutely feel your pain at crafting such an aesthetically pleasing dish without a mandolin! If you have a minute, I’d love your thoughts on my tian (painfully created by hand!!) 🙂 https://goodfoodmarsh.wordpress.com/2014/08/18/tian-provencal/
Kendall says
November 14, 2014 at 3:38 pmThank you! I spent a summer in italy and i feel like that flavor palette subtly (or maybe not so subtly lol) controls my brain.