Ever since I saw the Pixar movie Ratatouille, I knew I had to make ratatouille this way. Traditional ratatouille is a peasant vegetable stew of mushy vegetables, but this preparation method is much more impressive and the vegetables don’t all fall to pieces! This is also one of my all-time favorite dishes to prepare with children of any age. I still prefer to call it a ratatouille, but I’m often corrected and told it’s either a tian or confit byaldi. So I came up with my own name for this dish: Ratatian. I’ve tried it with all sorts of sauces as the base, and I’m delighted with the outcome every time. Try to use vegetables that are roughly the same diameter.
RATATOUILLE’S RATATOUILLE
Makes 6 to 8 servings
- 3 medium tomatoes
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 teaspoons fresh oregano
- Salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper,
- to taste
- 1 Asian eggplant
- 1 small zucchini
- 1 small summer squash
- ½ red bell pepper, deseeded
- 3 small plum tomatoes
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a food processor fitted with the “S” blade, process the tomatoes, shallot, and garlic until pureed.
Transfer to a 10-inch round baking dish. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with ½ of the oregano. Season with the salt and black pepper.
Using a mandolin or a really sharp knife, thinly and evenly slice the eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, and bell pepper into ⅛-inch-thick rounds and strips (the thinner, the better!). Using a sharp knife, slice the plum tomatoes as evenly as possible. Compile the vegetable slices into colorful, patterned mini-stacks.
Arrange these vegetable stacks, a few at a time, into the prepared baking dish in a concentric spiral pattern from the outer edge to the inside, taking care to fan them out a bit. Stuff in as many vegetable slices as possible, saving the smaller rounds for the center of the dish. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with the salt and black pepper. Sprinkle with the remaining oregano.
Cover the dish with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit just inside the dish’s rim, directly atop the arranged vegetables, and bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour, or until softened but not limp, depending on the thickness of your vegetable slices. Remove from the oven.
Serve immediately.
Related
Make It Your Way: Choose Your Favorite Combination
LIQUID BASE (1 cup)
- Cashew Cream
- Creamy Soup
- Curry
- Fresh tomato puree
- Raw Marinara Sauce
AROMATICS
(2–3 tablespoons)
- Fresh chives
- Freshly grated ginger
- Garlic
- Green onion
- Leeks
- Onion
- Shallots
OIL (2 tablespoons)
- Coconut
- Olive
- Sesame, light
- Sunflower seed
HERBS (3 teaspoons)
- Fresh basil
- Fresh oregano
- Fresh parsley
- Fresh thyme
VEGETABLES (5 pieces)
- Beets
- Bell peppers
- Carrots
- Delicata squash
- Eggplant
- Parsnips
- Plum tomatoes
- Potatoes
- Summer squash
- Sunchokes
- Sweet potatoes
- Turnips
- Zucchini
SEASONING (¼ teaspoon)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Salt
- OIL (2 tablespoons)
- Coconut
- Olive
- Sesame, light
- Sunflower seed
HERBS (3 teaspoons)
- Fresh basil
- Fresh oregano
- Fresh parsley
- Fresh thyme
VEGETABLES (5 pieces)
- Beets
- Bell peppers
- Carrots
- Delicata squash
- Eggplant
- Parsnips
- Plum tomatoes
- Potatoes
- Summer squash
- Sunchokes
- Sweet potatoes
- Turnips
- Zucchini
SEASONING (¼ teaspoon)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Salt
MORE RECIPE IDEAS
- This roasted cauliflower will be your new favorite side
- Top chefs (and Snoop Dogg) show you how to take brunch to the next level
- 13 healthier Mexican recipes to try tonight
- Healthy instant pot recipes you make in minutes
- 12 French fry recipes that are actually good for you
Want more tips like these? NBC News BETTER is obsessed with finding easier, healthier and smarter ways to live. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
