Rats!!!

bwahahahaha just kidding with the whole rats thing. i didn't know what ratatouille was until i saw the awesome disney movie!! how could i have not known about this deliciousness???? well, the point is that i do now.

i had wanted to make it for a while and finally found a recipe that i liked (i'm not a big fan of french food). of course my first pass at the dish didn't look as pretty as some of the pictures online:

however.....it tasted pretty amazing and kasia and i enjoyed our leftovers!!!

ingredients:

red bell pepper

1 yellow squash

1 zucchini

1 eggplant

1/2 onion, diced

1 c tomato puree

2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced or diced

1/4 t oregano

1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

2 T olive oil, separated

fresh thyme

salt and pepper to taste

directions:

preheat oven to 375*

pour tomato puree into oval baking dish

mix in oregano, pepper flakes, 1 T olive oil, onion, and garlic

season with salt and pepper to taste

trim ends off of veggies and remove seeds/membrane from bell pepper

USE A MANDOLINE!! i didn't and regretted it!! slice the pepper, squash, zucchini, and eggplant about 1/16 of an inch thick

starting on the edge, alternate setting down the veggies in the puree mixture in a pretty pattern shown above......enter the help of the mandoline!! the thinness of the veggies will help you keep a beautiful pattern

drizzle the last T of olive oil over the top, add salt and pepper and fresh thyme (i always go heavy on the thyme and just LOVE it!!)

cover with parchment paper

bake 45-55 minutes

DO NOT OVERCOOK because you really don't want soggy veggies

things that i would change for next time: if i was going to attempt the pretty pattern, i would definitely use a mandoline. our kitchen could benefit from another fun gadget!! i am not a big fan of eggplant. i wouldn't put it in the same category as olives and mushrooms, but i didn't like eating a thick slice of the eggplant.

i might try the more traditional french style of ratatouille:

.........where i don't have to worry about the pattern. the presentation is still gorgeous and i'm sure it tastes great......as long as the eggplant is still small and thin (much to kasia's chagrin) 

i baked this as a side dish to baked chicken and bacon-wrapped asparagus which will be another blog posting.........