Ratatouille
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 Garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
- 2 small eggplants (I like to use the little eggplants)
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 medium yellow squash
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- Fresh herbs for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Pour crushed tomatoes into bottom of an oval baking dish, about 12 inches across the long way. Add the sliced garlic cloves and chopped onion into the sauce, stir in one tablespoon of the olive oil and season the sauce then season with salt and pepper.
Trim the ends off the eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash. Trim the ends off the red pepper and remove the core, leaving the edges intact, like a tube.
Using a mandolin, adjustable-blade slicer or with a very sharp knife, cut the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and red pepper into very thin slices.
Arrange slices of prepared vegetables starting from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a bit of each flat surface is visible, alternating vegetables.
Drizzle the remaining tablespoon olive oil over the vegetables and season them generously with salt and pepper. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs with your fingertips, running them down the stem. Sprinkle the fresh thyme over the dish.
Season with Italian seasoning. Cover dish with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside.
Bake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, until vegetables have released their liquid and are clearly cooked, but with some structure left so they are not totally limp. They should not be brown at the edges, and you should see that the tomato sauce is bubbling up around them.
Garnish with parsley and serve with your favorite dish!
Note: Garnish with fresh herbs!