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Friday, June 26, 2009

Ratatouille


I love that movie. Don't you? You can read the history of this dish via wikipedia. Several weeks ago, a friend of mine sent me a recipe for a "chick pea ratatouille." It was a sign that I had to make it. Unfortunately, I didn't have any chick peas. Grr...

But I did have most of the veggies for an almost traditional ratatouille. I cut the eggplants and zucchini into thin coins. Helps it cook faster rather than going for cubed. I also sautéed the vegetables to help speed up the process of baking in the oven. Topped it with some shredded parmesan and let it melt for the last 5-10 min of baking. It gave the top crust a nice crunch that paired great with the tender veggies. Also the juices from the tomato mix with the veggies making a nice little sauce underneath.

Really simple easy dish to make. No need for anything fancy. I served it with a couple of sausage slices. You can have it with some toasted bread or rice, too.

Here's my adaptation of the ratatouille.

Serves 2-3.







Ratatouille
adapted from recipe on Epicurious and from my friend's "Chick Pea Ratatouille."

1 can fire-roasted tomatoes (drained, but keep 1/3 of the liquid)
2 medium zucchini - sliced or cubed
2 medium Japanese eggplant - sliced or cubed
1/2 large onion - sliced
1 large garlic clove (minced)
1/3 c shredded cheese
1 Tbsp Dry Rosemary
1 Tbsp Dry Thyme
Olive Oil


Preheat oven 425˚F

Drain most, but not all of the juices from the fire-roasted tomato.

Heat a tiny drizzle of olive oil in a pan, sauté the garlic and onion. Remove from pan when onions are slightly tender. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Heat another drizzle of oil, sauté the bell peppers. Remove from pan when nearly tender.

Heat a third drizzle of oil, saute the eggplant and zucchini until slightly tender. Season with the dry rosemary and dry thyme.

Take a baking dish or 9-inch pie tin. Layer a portion of the eggplant and zucchini, followed by half the onions, bell peppers and fire-roasted tomato. Do this layering a second time topping it with a few eggplants and zucchini slices. Drizzle the tomato juice over the finished dish.

Place in the oven for 30 min. 5-10min before removing, sprinkle some shredded cheese and baked until melted.



43 comments:

Phyllis said...

Yum yum, gorgeous ratatouille you got there, Jenn! Sounds really easy too. And hubby keeps telling me that I should watch Ratatouille (he saw it on the plane while I was sleeping!)

Parita said...

Ratatouille looks delicious Jenn!! Lovely combination of veggies there!

Unknown said...

Looks very warm and comforting :)

Jen @ MyKitchenAddiction.com said...

Looks wonderful! I haven't made ratatouille in quite a while - I'm thinking I should! Now I want to watch the movie, too.

tavolini said...

mmm! Ratatouille is one of my favorite dishes, so tasty and so easy :) Looks excellent, Jenn!

pigpigscorner said...

Love that movie! Serving this with sausages sounds great!

Anonymous said...

I loved the movie, too. I always like hearty vegetable dishes.

Creative Classroom Core said...

Just look at all those awesome yummy veggies! What a tasty and healhy dish!

Thanks for sharing!

Bob said...

Sounds great, love all the veggies.

Cori said...

Did you put that in a pie tin? Cute!

Anonymous said...

Delicious looking ratatouille! beautiful plating!

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

This always reminds me of the movie-love them BOTH!! The movie is JUST TOO CUTE and this is YUMMY ;)

Mary Bergfeld said...

This is one of favorite foods. Flavorful, filling and fabulous. Yours looks especially good. Blessings...Mary

Justin said...

yeah, i love that movie too. i've never been a big fan of the dish though... maybe i have to try yours.

Anonymous said...

I love all the yummy vegetables. I have not seen the movie but the meal sure does look delicious:)

Reeni said...

I haven't seen the movie yet! I don't know what I'm waiting for. This is a delicious way to eat your veggies!

Pooja said...

Looks delicious! I havent made it till now! Will try yours some time!

theUngourmet said...

I do love that movie but I have never had the dish. Your version looks great. I really should try it!

Lana said...

Hard to believe, but in all my years of cooking I've never made ratatouille. This has just inspired me to give it a try! Thanks for another delicious recipe!

Anonymous said...

Pleasantly surprised by a ratatouille recipe that doesnt involve tomatoes. A must try!

teresa said...

I am in love with all the veggies! I could eat the whole dish adn feel okay about life!

Heather S-G said...

It looks awesome!! The pictures are simply delicious. I do love that movie...the actual ratatouille scene is one of my faves!

Anonymous said...

OMG, my daughter has probably seen that movie 100 times already!

Love your ratatouille - I've made a similar one, but into a soup and left out the eggplant!

Have a good weekend Jenn!

Anonymous said...

This looks delicious! I want some!

Jenn said...

Phyllis: haha...you have to see it. You just have to! ;-)

Parita, heavenly: Thanks.

Jen: Watching the movie initially piqued my interest in making this.

TavoLini: Thanks. I'm adding this to my reportoire

pigpigscorner: I need a little protein in there.

Hummingbird: Same here.

finsmom, bob: Thanks.

Cori: I did use a pie tin. It's convenient. Besides I have a ton of those tins sitting around the cupboard.

5 Star, Sweta, Mary: Thanks.

Justin: Give it a try.

Nutmeg Nanny: the movie is cute. I love it. It's on of the reason I made this dish.

Reeni: It's a fun movie. You'll like it.

Pooja: Thanks.

Ungourmet: It's really simple to make. You'll like it.

Lana: Thanks!

Ruth: I does have some tomatoes, but you can omit it, if you'd like.

Teresa: I ate half of this and it was just right to fill me up good.

Girlichef: I could watch that movie over and over.

Biz: A ratatouille soup sounds good.

Jenn said...

TastyEats: Thanks. ;-)

kamran siddiqi said...

Looks very delicious.

French Cooking for Dummies said...

Yummy...Your ratatouille looks great :-D

Rachelle said...

I love ratatouille. My French grandmother used to make this for us. Now I am craving a good ratatouille.

Diana said...

I've actually never had ratatouille! The movie made me sort of curious to try it -- glad I have a recipe I can use now! :)

zerrin said...

Jenn, it is one of my favorite movies and I crave for ratatouille whenever I watch it. It is not a kind of Turkish cuisine, so I learnt it after this movie. Yours looks fantastic!

Jenn said...

Kamran, French Cooking: Thanks.

Rachelle: I bet your grandmother's version is really good.

Diana: it's really just a vegetable dish. Really good too.

Zerrin: Thanks.

Anonymous said...

A large serving of this with a sprinkle of goat cheese, please!
Ratatouille was one of my FAVORITE movies...in fact, I got one for Christmas!

Marta said...

I love the movie and I love the dish!
The kids always pretend they get those bubbles of colour above their heads when they taste something yummy, you know, like in the movie? It's cute!
This dish looks great, thanks for sharing it!

chow and chatter said...

this is one of my fav dishes, great job

Jenn said...

burpandslurp: goat cheese on this would be good.

marta: That's cute!!

chow and chatter: Thanks.

lisaiscooking said...

That looks great with the melted cheese on top. Loved that movie too.

Jenn said...

Lisaiscooking: Thanks!

Tangled Noodle said...

Your version looks fantastic! I've made something using many of these ingredients but I don't think it could be called ratatouille by any stretch! 8-) What fantastic presentation, both the whole dish and plated singly. And you know there's no other accompaniment but rice for me!

Lana said...

Congrats on making Foodbuzz's Top 9 today!

Jenn said...

Tangled Noodle: I'd go for the rice, too. LOL.

Lana: Sweet Thanks!

Diana said...

Looks so good! I love zucchini gratin and have been wanting to make ratatouille for a while. Got zucchini in my CSA yesterday so maybe this week!

Jenn said...

Diana: Perfect timing. ;-)

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