To help kick off the fall to winter season, I’m sharing my version of a basic ratatouille recipe. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that easy recipes are what I do best. As long as the family is happy with my cooking, I’m happy too!
I prefer making ratatouille in a round cast iron roasting pan because I like to create a spiral design with the vegetables. It makes a beautiful presentation with the alternating colors.
Our family loves ratatouille served as a meal or as a vegetable side dish. Either way it’s a healthy and tasty recipe, so enjoy!
Ratatouille Recipe
- 1-1/2 cups tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 – 2 zucchini sliced thin
- 1 eggplant sliced thin (Japanese eggplant if available)
- 2 yellow onions sliced thin
- 3 – 4 Roma tomatoes sliced thin
- sea salt
- fresh cracked pepper
- shredded parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)
- fresh chopped basil for garnish (optional)
Pre-heat oven to 350º F. Lightly grease baking pan or dish.
Combine tomato puree or crushed tomatoes with spices.
Cover the bottom of the baking dish with the tomato mixture.
Next stack the vegetables in an alternating pattern, arranging them vertically around the perimeter of the dish and continue in the center until full. Fill in gaps by wedging in any extra vegetables you have left over.
Top with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper with a few sprinkles of parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350º F for about an hour or until vegetables are tender. Remove from oven and serve hot as a meal or side dish.
Garnish with fresh basil when ready to serve.
Special Notes About The Ratatouille Recipe
- To simplify the recipe you can use store-bought marinara sauce. One of my favorites is Italian Plum Tomato Marinara from Mezzetta.
- If the vegetables are a uniform size they will cook more evenly.
- I much prefer Japanese eggplant which is smaller in size but it wasn’t available at the grocery store. I sliced the eggplant thin like the tomatoes and zucchini, then quartered the slice so they would be of a uniform size.
- A friend of ours gave us a sack of Vidalia onions that were huge. Couldn’t pass up an opportunity to bake with these sweet onions, so I had to slice and quarter then as well to match the other vegetables.
- There’s nothing wrong with changing up a recipe. Substitute yellow squash for onions or add bell peppers for a more traditional dish.
- Parmesan cheese is completely optional since it’s not in most ratatouille recipes, but it does make a yummy presentation.
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There are so many ways to prepare this dish, but the most important thing to remember, is to make it with the ingredients that you and your family will enjoy most. Bon appétit!
Thanks for joining me today for my ratatouille recipe. This one is a keeper.
Cheers!
©2018 Ratatouille Recipe was first published on Thistle Key Lane™