RATATOUILLE

Posted By: Emily
FEBRUARY 24, 2018

Serves: 3-4
Total Time: 2 Hours * Active Time: 45 Minutes
Courtesy of: Savita

Ingredients

RED SAUCE

  • 1 1/2 Cups Red Sauce
    • Spiced up for Flavor
  • 3-4 Cloves garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Chilli Flakes

BECHAMEL SAUCE

  • 2 1/2 Cups Whole Milk
  • 35 Grams Unsalted Butter
  • 30 Grams Flour
  • 1/4 Onion
    • Peeled
  • 2 to 3 Whole Cloves
  • 1 Fresh Bay Leaf
  • Salt, To Taste
  • Ground Pepper, To Taste
  • Nutmeg
  • 1/3 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
    • Optional

RATATOUILLE

  • 1 Japanese Eggplant
  • 1 Yellow Squash
  • 1 Zucchini
  • 1 Bell Pepper
  • 2 Small Red Potatoes
  • 1 Shallot or small onion
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 3 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme

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Directions

PREP WORK

  1. Prepare red sauce. I used a jar of marinara sauce, but added in a bunch of garlic, onion and spices to give it some real flavor.

  2. Prepare the béchamel sauce. See the link on the left for instructions. You can half this recipe since you will only use about 1 cup for the ratatouille.

  3. Bring a pot of water to a boil and season with salt.

  4. Slice red potatoes thinly, drop in water and boil for 4-5 minutes just to cook them a little bit. Drain and lay out on a paper towel to cool.

  5. Slice the other veggies, taking care to make them consistently thin.

ASSEMBLE

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

  2. Oil your baking dish and spread a layer of the tomato sauce and then a layer of the béchamel sauce on top.

  3. Gently swirl them into each other. They don’t need to be fully mixed!

  4. Layer sliced veggies on top of the sauces.

  5. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Lay out a few sprigs of thyme, cover with parchment paper.

  6. Bake for 50-60 minutes until all veggies are tender. The tomato sauce will bubble up the sides.

Notes:
If you want a really stunning presentation, it is very important to try to pick veggies that are about the same diameter. My eggplant was huge and then I had to half all the pieces and fudge them a bunch to get it to lay nicely.

I served this with a beef wellington, but I read a lot about putting it with creamy polenta, risotto, couscous, a leg of lamb and so on. I almost wonder if you could put a really thin slice of meat into the mix as you are layering it. That might be delicious!