I don’t think I will ever make ratatouille without thinking of the Pixar movie! My son Bennett absolutely loves that movie

Ratatouille is a French dish that typically consists of tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, squash, zucchini, onions, garlic and herbs. First the vegetables are sauteed separately and then cooked together very slowly. It can be served warm or cold. It is usually served as a side dish but can be served as a main course.
I am pretty excited share this recipe with y’all! For two reasons. One, being that I never hear people talk about making this dish and I am here to tell you it is SO tasty and you should make it! The smell alone is divine!

Two, is because this dish consist of only ONE ingredients that is not from my garden! The onions are the only thing I didn’t pull from my backyard! Everything else is SEED TO TABLE! I love when that happens!

Every year I have an abundance of eggplant I pull from the garden. It is usually all with in 4-6 week period. So all summer I am always looking for new recipes that consist of eggplant! This is one of my new favorites! Right next to my Coconut Thai Basil Shrimp Stir Fry!

Ingredients: 

10 tomatoes skinned and puréed

or

1 can of tomato sauce

2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp of herbs de provence

salt and pepper to taste

1 zucchini sliced

1 yellow squash sliced

3 tomatoes sliced

1 eggplant sliced

2 large onions sliced

4 tbsp of olive oil

Skillet

Yields: 8 servings

If you are not making your own homemade tomato sauce and are using a can of tomato sauce skip to step 3!

1. Start by making the tomato sauce this is the base of your dish. Bring large pot of water to a boil. While you are waiting for your water to come to a boil, in a large bowl, create an ice bath filling it with ice and water and set aside.  Now with a knife core and make small X’s in the bottom of your tomatoes this makes getting the skin off of them easier.

2.Once your water has come to a boil place tomatoes in water and boil for 1-2 minutes or until you see the skin of the tomato start to peel back around the X.Strain tomatoes then place tomatoes into your ice bath. This is called shocking. This stops the cooking process immediately. Then strain tomatoes again and pull skin off tomatoes and discard skin.In a food processor or blender add tomatoes and blend together until smooth and set aside

3. In a sauce pan add one tbsp of olive and chopped garlic. Saute garlic for 1-2 minutes. Pour pureed tomatoes in pan and add herbs de provence. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low-medium heat stirring occasionally until ready to assemble ratatouille.

4.  Slice eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash and onions. In the skillet heat up one tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat. Saute each veggie separately for about 2-5 minutes and then set aside. Adding the remaining tbsp of olive oil as needed.

TIP: If you are on a time crunch you can saute your veggies together. The correct way to cook ratatouille is so saute each veggie separate to allow the flavors of each vegetable to develop! Let’s be honest though some days there is just not time for that!

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour the tomato sauce from the pan into your skillet. Smooth with a spoon making sure the sauce is level and even. Then assemble your ratatouille. Start at the edge of the pan and layer eggplant, yellow squash,tomato, zucchini and onion. Then repeat circling the whole skillet until you have reached the center of the pan and you can no longer see the tomato sauce.

6. Place skillet in oven and cook for 45 min-1 hour or until all the veggies are tender.

Ratatouille is an amazingly tasty dish that calls for many veggies gardeners typically have growing in their backyards! The presentation alone has a wow factor but the taste makes it that much better! If you’re looking for a dish  to wow your guest look no further! Ratatouille is it!

Grow it. Pick it. Cook it. Eat it.

Chantelle