Ratatouille Recipe

Ingredients - Red Sauce

• 2 T olive oil

• 1 t cumin seeds

• 1 t fennel seeds

• 1 large yellow onion, small-diced

• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

• 1 red & 1 yellow bell pepper, medium-diced

• 1 T tomato paste

• 1/3 cup white wine

• 28-oz can good-quality diced or puréed tomatoes, preferably Muir Glen fire-roasted

• Handful basil and a few springs of oregano, destemmed and chopped

• Salt & pepper to taste

Ingredients - Veggies & Topping

• 1 each zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, all thinly sliced and laid out on a sheet tray. Sprinkle salt over vegetables and set aside for at least 30 minutes.

• 3 Roma or on the vine tomatoes, thinly sliced

• Another handful basil and handful of parsley, chopped

• 6-8 sprigs thyme, destemmed and chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• Zest of one lemon

• 4 T olive oil

• Salt & pepper to taste

Red Sauce

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, add cumin and fennel seeds and let sizzle for 1 minute. Add onion and reduce heat to medium; sauté until soft and translucent. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add bell peppers and cook until softened, then add tomato paste and stir until paste starts to caramelize. Deglaze with wine, stirring occasionally. Once wine has evaporated, add tomatoes, herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until slightly reduced and flavors have melded together nicely, 10-15 minutes.

Assembly & Cooking

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To begin assembling the Ratatouille recipe, put red sauce in a 9x9”baking dish. Stir together basil, parsley, thyme, minced garlic, olive oil and lemon zest in a bowl. Pour off any liquid that came off of the squash and eggplant and pat surfaces dry with paper towels. Layer squash, eggplant and tomatoes over one another in a line over the tomato sauce, repeating the pattern so that the vegetables coil around the outer edge of the dish. Do another layer on the inside of the dish, tucking under the first layer. Repeat until all of the tomato sauce has been covered. Drizzle the herb-oil mixture all over the veggies, adding salt and pepper to taste. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and finish baking until veggies are really tender, 15 additional minutes.

Ratatouille Recipe by Chef Rachel Aiken, Family Meal, LLC