The Best Ever Ratatouille recipe
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From the first moment I saw the movie Ratatouille, I knew I had to make this dish. Disney sure does a great job of making a cartoon meal look and smell delicious. But I didn’t want the chopped up soup version. I wanted the thinly sliced layered version like in the movies or it wouldn’t have been the same, right? They really made it look amazing for just some simple vegetables in a light sauce, and the faces the characters made eating it made me want to make some too.
I could just taste the yummy zucchini, squash, and eggplant, all in yummy tomato sauce all the way home until I just had to make it. I’ve seen tons of different recipes available online for this meal, but they were all so complicated. I really like mine simple. Even though I know it is traditionally served as a soup, chopping up all of the vegetables just seemed to ruin the dish for me. It was just so beautiful in the dish and so elegant to present to my family. I felt like a chef, and how food makes you feel is what matters right?
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To me, ratatouille says Italian, I can almost hear one of those Italian actors saying it while waving their hand in the air fingers together. (I know the movie was set in France. That’s just my take.) But it also says down home eating. It fits perfectly with spaghetti, lasagna, and chicken parmesan, but would be equally blended with a chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes. In my household, we served in along with some pasta and homemade marinara sauce and some garlic bread.
Instead of just steaming some veggies or pulling something out of a can, why not have an elegant, sophisticated, flavorful dish that complements just about any meal? And this doesn’t even mention how elegant this dish would look served to your guests “Ratatouille” style. I think what so many people miss is the experience of food. How it’s made, how it makes you feel, the flavors and smells wafting around the house, and even the feeling of coming home to a hot home-cooked meal. We really enjoy our food around here, and this dish is one of our favorites. Let me show you how easy it was to make.
Cook Time:
Ingredients:
- 1 small eggplant
- 1 regular zucchini
- 1 regular yellow squash
- 1 regular red bell pepper
- 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
- 2 large cloves garlic, sliced or minced
- 1 (8oz) can tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon olive oil, separated
- 1/2 tablespoon thyme
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray an oval baking dish generously with cooking spray if you have one. (You’ll have to be the judge. If you’re using bigger or more veggies, you’ll probably want a large rectangle dish. If you’re making a smaller amount, you can probably use a small round dish.)
- Pour tomato puree into the bottom of your baking dish, the length of the dish.
- Drop garlic (sliced or minced) and your chopped onion into the sauce.
- Stir 1 tablespoon of your olive oil into the mixture and season well with salt and pepper.
- Trim off the ends of all of your veggies and remove the core of your red pepper.
- Slice all of your veggies into super thin slices, either by hand or with a kitchen mandolin (slicer).
- In your oval baking dish, on top of your tomato puree mixture, arrange your vegetable slices in a circular fashion starting around the outside of the dish going around towards the inside. Overlap each slice just a little so you can see each one below it, and alternate vegetables as you go around.
- When completed, drizzle the remainder of your olive oil over the top of your dish and season well, once again, with salt and pepper.
- Also sprinkle your thyme over the top for a little flavor and a little garnish.
- Finally cover your dish with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside the dish just over your veggies.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until veggies are cooked all the way through, but are still firm. They should not be brown, but you should see the tomato sauce bubbling up from underneath.
- Allow to cool before serving. We typically use this as a side dish with noodles and parmesan chicken. Delicious!!
Related Recipes:
Best Ever Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
Quick and Easy Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Sometimes you’re just craving some yummy vegetables. And this really hits the spot for me, especially with the tomato sauce. This dish definitely doesn’t disappoint. But if you’re not the kind of tomato sauce freak that I am, consider some simple vegetable broth and Italian seasonings instead. You could also substitute the tomato sauce for butter. Yum!
I have a great deal of trouble just following recipes to the t. Sometimes I like to include my own ingredients, I’ll substitute out what the recipe calls for for what I actually have in the refrigerator or pantry, and garlic always gets me in recipes. No one ever uses nearly enough garlic, so my measuring spoons are always heaping, I don’t know about you.
Don’t be afraid to make any of these recipes your own. After all, you’re not cooking for my family! You’re cooking for yours! Have fun, don’t be afraid to experiment, and I’m sure you’ll quickly find the perfect dish to satisfy everyone in your household.
Just writing up this recipe is making me hungry! I’m off to have some ratatouille! Enjoy!
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