What happens when you layer thinly sliced veggies in a dish with a rich red sauce, herbs, and a cheese topping? This Oven Roasted Ratatouille is so delicious that even vegetable haters cannot stop eating it. This dish reminds me of a lot of pizza but is made with beautiful vegetables. (And it made my house scent like a pizza).
What is RATATOUILLE?
Ratatouille, a classic French recipe, comprises vegetables stewed in tomato, eggplant, bell pepper, zucchini, and onion. It’s comforting and rich. Perfect for dipping into a crusty artisan loaf or pouring over a bowl of polenta. There are many ways to make Ratatouille. Mine was different from other recipes passed down through generations.
Instead of stewing vegetables in a pot together, I made an oven-roasted version, an alternative to the stewed versions. It’s not only easier to oven-roast the vegetables, but it also takes less time than stewing them in a pot. I added Marinara Sauce at the bottom of the casserole dish. This sauce mixes with the vegetable juices and creates the most delicious sauce. It was delicious. I also topped it with cheese. This is different from the usual way to beat Ratatouille. It really did create that pizza-like appearance.
What size vegetables should you use?
This recipe is very flexible. You can use any size and shape of vegetables you like. I have given approximate weights for the vegetables, but feel free to use what you have on hand. A word of caution: once the vegetables are sliced, the volume always turns out to be more than what you thought. So, err on smaller vegetables.
You don’t need to arrange the vegetables in a perfect order or even alternate them. You can squeeze the slices into the dish and be done! It will still be delicious even if the appearance isn’t perfect.
What kind of baking dish should I use?
You’ll probably need a dish that is around 9″x11″. Or a round 3-quart dish. Use a glass, ceramic, or metal dish.
RATATOUILLE OVEN RASTED – HOW TO SERVE?
The oven-roasted Ratatouille is a great side dish to grilled or roast meats like Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Garlic butter-baked cod, or Herb Roasted Chicken breast. This dish can also be served as part of vegetarian meals over a bowl of polenta or paired with a creamy and rich risotto.
Ingredients
1 cup marinara sauce ($0.50)
One yellow onion is worth $0.25
One lb. of eggplant ($1.49)
One zucchini (about 1/2 lb.) ($0.71)
One yellow squash (about half a pound) ($0.55)
3 Roma tomatoes ($0.87)
1 tbsp Olive Oil ($0.16)
Buy 1/2 tsp dried Basil ($0.05)
Oregano dried 1/2 tsp ($0.05)
1/8 tsp Black pepper freshly cracked ($0.01)
1/8 tsp salt ($0.01)
1 cup shredded mozzarella ($0.94)
1 Tbsp of chopped parsley (optional), $0.09
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400oF. Slice the yellow onion thinly. Slice tomatoes, eggplants, zucchinis, and yellow squashes into 1/8-inch thick pieces. Any pieces that are larger in diameter can be cut into half-rounds.
Pour the marinara into the bottom of the large casserole dish. Over the top, sprinkle the sliced onions.
Start by lining up the slices of eggplant, zucchini squash, and tomatoes in the dish. Alternately, place them on their side. Continue until you have used all the pieces. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, Basil, oregano, and olive oil on the vegetables.
After 40 minutes, remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle the shredded mozzarella. Remove the plate from the oven after 40 minutes and sprinkle shredded mozzarella on top. Then, return the casserole dish to the oven and bake it for another five minutes or until the cheese has melted.
Sprinkle chopped parsley on top of the roast after it has been roasted, and serve.
