I love a good ratatouille! I know there are umpteenbajillion ways to make this, but I’ve found that this is practical and simple. Just the slicing that is tedious, unless you have a mandolin or a food processor.
You can find this in part of our Weekly Meal Plans for Week 1 here!
Parmesan Ratatouille
This makes for such a great late summer, early fall dish. It's super customizable - so if you are doing Whole 30 or paleo, then just omit the cheese topping and sprinkle with whichever tomato sauce you like. Add some pine nuts, some extra basil, even rosemary would be delish!I always try to find vegetables that are somewhat the same circumference so that the top of the dish is pretty even and to avoid having to cut the slices in half to make sure - but do whatever works for you!
Equipment
- Oven Safe Casserole Dish
Ingredients
- 1 small-medium Eggplant
- 4 Roma Tomatoes
- 2 Green Zucchini
- 2 Yellow Squash
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Marinara Sauce - homemade or your favorite jar
- 1 Tbs Fresh chopped garlic *optional
- 1 Tsp Fresh chopped rosemary *optional
- 2 Tbsp Chiffonade Basil (rolled and sliced thin into strips) *optional
- 1/2-1 Cup Shredded or shaved parmesan Some to sprinkle on bottom and some for top - *Optional
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375F. Using a mandolin, a food processor, or a sharp knife, cut the vegetables as thinly as possible.
- Stack the vegetables in a rotating order (eggplant, zucchini, squash, tomato, repeat).
- Spread 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil into the baking dish.
- Cover the bottom of the baking dish with the marinara or jarred tomato sauce. Spread evenly.
- Sprinkle enough parmesan cheese on top of the tomato sauce to cover.
- Depending upon the shape of your pan, start on the outside of your pan/dish and take your stacks of vegetables and stand them on their side. Keep spiraling inward, making pretty tight circles.
- Keep spiraling in towards the center of the pan/dish, pushing extra vegetables wherever you might need to help them stand up.
- Once the pan/dish is full, drizzle with the remaining olive oil, using a brush to get down into the crevices.
- Sprinkle with any remaining herbs you would like. Cover with foil.
- Bake Covered at 375F for 25-30 minutes until vegetables are somewhat soft. Remove from oven and remove foil. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese if you would like. Return to oven and continue baking (with or without cheese) for 15 minutes.