Ratatouille is a traditional dish from Nice, France that includes many summer vegetables including tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, garlic, onions, and many herbs. There is much debate on what is the traditional method to prepare ratatouille, but we have used this recipe for an easy preparation that looks beautiful for an easy summer dinner or a great side dish for a dinner party.
Ratatouille is rich in vegetables of the summer season that contain many vitamins great for the immune system and metabolism. I serve this dish usually as a main course with some fresh goat cheese and bread, but could easily be served over pasta, or as a side dish to a protein. We make the tomato sauce from scratch most of the time, but a prepared tomato sauce can be bought for a quick meal.
Ingredients
2 cups Tomato Sauce (homemade or store bought such as San Marzano Marinara Sauce)
2 Japanese Eggplants
2 smaller zucchinis
2 small squash
2 bell peppers, any color is fine, but I tend to use red for contrasting colors
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
basil for garnish
Optional: goat cheese or greek yogurt
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Cut the eggplant, zucchini, squash, and bell peppers into 1/4inch rounds.
3. In 8x8 inch, or equivalent, baking pan, pour 2 cups of tomato sauce to line the pan.
4. Line the vegetable in the baking pan over the tomato sauce in an alternating pattern. Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Cover the veggies with parchment paper. I usually cut a piece to fit the inside of the pan.
6. Bake in 375F oven for 45-50 min. Vegetables should be soft, but not mushy.
7. Remove parchment paper and garnish with fresh basil.
Optional
I like to eat this dish as a main course with a dollop of fresh goat cheese or greek yogurt with bread to soak up the sauce.