Ratatouille.
Ratatouille is a French vegetable stew. Back in the days it was characterized as peasant food, because vegetables were cheap.
In this version the vegetables are thinly sliced, and arranged nicely in the tomato sauce. I looks like it takes forever, but if you slice all the vegetables first, it only takes a few minutes, and looks like a million dollars.
We often have ratatouille as a side dish or served with rice and a slice of some good bread. Sprinkle some fresh shaved parmesan cheese on the ratatouille as you serve it, and it takes it over the top. Another advantage by cooking it like this is, that you get some nice caramelization of the vegetables, which gives added flavor to the dish.
Pick good quality vegetables, because this is a rather simple dish, and the vegetables are the stars, so the better the vegetables the better the dish. I normally use canned tomatoes for the sauce, but you can easily substitute it with crushed fresh tomatoes, it might even be better.
Leftovers will keep a day or two in the refrigerator, and are fantastic as breakfast with a poached egg, kinda like a Shakshuka.
Serves 3-4 as a side
Ingredients:
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh basil, about 3-4 large leaves, sliced
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence spice mix
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grounded black pepper
¼ teaspoon chili powder
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1-2 large zucchini, I used both summer squash and zucchini
1 Japanese eggplant, or regular eggplant, with quartered slices
3-4 large fresh tomatoes, sliced
2-3 small bell peppers, sliced
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃). Lightly grease a 9" baking dish and set aside. I used a round dish here, but any ovenproof dish will do.
In a mixing bowl, combine the crushed tomatoes, oil and vinegar, and stir in salt and the other spices.
Pour the tomato mixture into the prepared baking dish in an even layer..
Ratatouille ready to serve.
Stack the veggie slices in alternating patters, you don't have to go all OCD on this, it will be pretty no matter how you do this. The most important thing is to spread the onions around, so it spreads its flavor throughout.
Sprinkle a little olive oil on top to encourage the caramelization of the vegetables.
Bake for about an hour, until the tomato sauce is bubbling and the veggies are tender, but not mushy.
Serve the ratatouille hot or warm.
Enjoy!