In the summertime I want to eat vegetables all the time. My 5-year old self would never understand. They are delicious and absolutely everywhere! I picked up eggplant, squash, zucchini and tomatoes at the farmers market and realized I had everything I needed for Ratatouille. After that thought, nothing else would do.
It’s one of those recipes, that’s barely even a recipe. It’s so fool-proof, it’s nearly impossible to mess up. The most important thing is to get veggies that are all roughly the same size, but even that is optional. My eggplant was much larger than the rest and it still looks beautiful.
The spicy basil oil as a finisher really made the flavors shine–don’t skip it. Enjoy!
Ratatouille
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
- 1 eggplant
- 1 yellow squash
- 1 zucchini
- 2 tomatoes
- 13 oz. tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes (I used Rao’s and would highly recommend)
- For basil oil:
- handful of fresh basil
- squeeze of lemon to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1-2 fresh cayenne peppers, minced (optional)
- 1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Slice eggplant, zucchini, squash and tomatoes in approx. 1/8 in. rounds. Pour tomato sauce into bottom of 9-inch cast-iron skillet. If the tomato sauce is unseasoned, add salt and pepper to taste. Then arrange sliced veggies in a pattern on top of the sauce. Drizzle olive oil and salt and pepper on top of veggies.
Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes, until veggies are softened.
While it’s baking, in a small bowl, stir together the olive oil, salt and pepper, basil, lemon, garlic and cayenne if using. Drizzle evenly on top of ratatouille after it’s done baking.
Enjoy hot and immediately. Serve with quinoa, rice, or crusty bread. It’s also great the next day as leftovers.
