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I posted a little preview on my personal Facebook page from Thanksgiving of this glorious dish and am just now (FINALLY) getting to my food blog post about it! For those of you who don’t know, I just began teaching this year. That is a lot in itself – just being a first year teacher. Add to it the complexities of trying to navigate a world still in a pandemic crisis, and it is that much harder. I have never been great with time management either so juggling home life – wife, mother – and work life has had its challenges as well. Needless to say I have been more than busy. The school year is already half over and there is that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel with summer break at the end of it and with a brand-new swimming pool in our backyard – I cannot wait for summer!
Back to Thanksgiving…. Usually for Thanksgiving we go to my in-law’s. My mother-in-law makes the turkey and stuffing and I usually do all of the sides. This year we hosted at our house and I made Thanksgiving dinner. I wanted to change up something. I get bored year after year with the same-old side dishes. I like trying something new once in a while. My husband’s family likes tradition so I always keep those same traditional dishes for everyone to enjoy, but I try to add something new to the mix each year. This year I wanted to try a new vegetable dish and I was looking at recipes when I thought about ratatouille. I had never made it before, but I loved everything in it so I decided to try it. It was an incredible success and was enjoyed by everyone!
Traditionally, ratatouille is made with yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes. Our family is not big on eggplant so I decided to switch out the eggplant with carrot chips. It was delicious. Nestled in a bed of crushed tomatoes with a savory herb drizzle – this dish was a hit! Not to mention it was beautiful in appearance too.
Keeping in mind the cooking time – squash, zucchini, and tomatoes don’t take very long to cook, but the carrot chips do. So to avoid overcooking those and/or undercooking the carrot chips – I par-boiled them first. Simply put the carrot chips in a pot with some boiling water and cook them under they are just under fork tender. Drain them and place them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. This also helps cool them down faster too so you can handle them as you assemble the ratatouille. Drain them from the ice bath and lay them on paper towels so they are dry.
With respect to cooking – this dish needs both stove and oven time so it is best to use an oven-safe baking dish. I used a small cast iron skillet which made things super easy. I was able to cook the sauce in the skillet on the stovetop and then just transfer the final dish into the oven to finish cooking.
The tomatoes and carrots gave this dish a nice sweetness and the carrots also helped with some texture. I find zucchini and yellow squash to get mushy sometimes if it is overcooked. The peppers also gave it a nice texture in addition to added sweetness. The savory herb drizzle and salt and pepper seasoning helped balance out the sweetness and gave the overall flavor profile a very nice, balanced bite.
It does take some patience to arrange the veggies in the pan, but it is so worth it! I hope you’ll give this dish a try and enjoy it as much as I do!
Ratatouille
For the vegetables:
6 roma tomatoes (sliced about 1/8″)
2 yellow squash (sliced about 1/8″)
2 zucchini (sliced about 1/8″)
1 small bag carrot chips (or for traditional ratatouille, 2 eggplant, peeled and sliced about 1/8″)
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
For the herb drizzle:
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, from 8-10 leaves
1 tsp. garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp. fresh thyme
Salt & Pepper, to taste
4 Tbsp. Olive Oil
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven for 375˚F (190˚C).
- Slice the tomatoes, squash, and zucchini (or eggplant if desired) into approximately 1/8 – 1/16 inch rounds, then set aside.
- If using the carrot chips, bring a small pot of water to a boil and add the carrot chips to partially cook them. Remove the carrots after about 5 minutes, placing them in an ice bath to stop cooking. Strain and place them on paper towels to dry. Set aside with other veggies.
- Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch (30-cm) oven-safe pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion, garlic, and bell peppers until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add the crushed tomatoes. Stir until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Remove from heat, then add the basil. Stir once more, then smooth the surface of the sauce with a spatula (making the sauce flat to arrange the veggies in).
- Arrange the sliced veggies in alternating patterns, (for example, carrot, (or eggplant), tomato, squash, zucchini) on top of the sauce from the outer edge to the middle of the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
- Make the herb seasoning: In a small bowl, mix together the basil, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Spoon the herb seasoning over the vegetables.
- Cover the pan with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover, then bake for another 20 minutes, until the vegetables are softened.
- Serve while hot as a main dish or side. The ratatouille is also excellent the next day–cover with foil and reheat in a 350˚F (180˚C) oven for 15 minutes, or simply microwave to desired temperature.
Enjoy!!
Recipe adapted from http://www.tasty.co