Baked Quinoa Ratatouille Food

QUINOA RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until fragrant. Toss in the eggplant and continue to cook for about five more minutes.
• Next add the red pepper, zucchini and tomatoes along with the herbs and salt & pepper to taste. Lower heat to a simmer and then cover and cook for about 30 minutes.
• Serve over hot over a bed of quinoa and enjoy!

BAKED QUINOA RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
• Add garlic and onion.
• Saute until softened, about 5 minutes. (the onion starts to turn clear).
• Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, thyme and parsley. Continue to cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Layer half of the tomato and onion mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish (I sprayed mine with Pam first).
• Top with ALL of the uncooked vegetables.
• Add the remaining tomato and onion mixture and spread over the top.
• Spread the cooked Quinoa on top, then sprinkle with cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes.
• Remove foil for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
• When I made this, my vegetables must have been larger than the recipe-writer's, as by the time I chopped up all those veggies, I had too many for my pan and ended up making 2 batches. I had to make a second full batch of the sauce to make 2 pans, so you might want to adjust.
• Also, the sauce seemed too scanty when I spread it in the pan, barely enough to very thinly 'cover' the vegetables, but there must be a lot of moisture in the vegetables because the sauce was a perfect proportion for us when it was cooked.
• Lastly - I goofed, never having cooked Quinoa before. My box said 1 cup Quinoa to 2 cups water - the recipe said 1 cup cooked Quinoa - but really my Quinoa made 3 cups once it was cooked. Since I made 2 pans of this recipe, it worked out okay, but you might want to double-check your Quinoa directions and proportions.
• One more thing - the recipe as written in the grocery store ad says 4 servings - we got probably closer to 8 to 10 servings of this. However, for my family, this would not be a 'main dish', but rather a yummy veggie 'side' to go with some type of meat because we're utter carnivores.
• I hope you enjoy this as much as our family did! It has loads of good-for-you stuff in it, it looks pretty and colorful and tastes like a 'fancy' dish while being actually quite easy. It is also vegitarian and gluten-free, which is cool for those folks who need that stuff.

RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare the vegetables: Smash and peel 3 garlic cloves, reserving the 4th. Halve onions through their roots, and slice halves into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Slice zucchini into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Cut eggplant into 1-inch cubes or spears. Seed peppers, and cut them into 1/4-inch-thick strips.
• Spread each vegetable on a separate rimmed baking sheet (use extra sheets as necessary). Add the 3 cloves of smashed garlic to the onion pan. Add 1 sprig rosemary and 2 sprigs thyme to each of the pepper, eggplant and zucchini pans. Sprinkle salt lightly over vegetables. Drizzle 3 tablespoons olive oil on each of the pans.
• Place all the pans in the oven (or work in batches if they don't fit at once). Cook until vegetables are very tender and lightly browned at the edges. This will take about 35 to 40 minutes for the peppers (their skins should shrivel), 40 to 45 minutes for the eggplant and zucchini (the eggplant should crisp slightly and the zucchini should be well cooked, so let them go 3 to 5 minutes longer than you normally might), and 60 to 65 minutes for the onions. Don't worry about the vegetables being pretty; they will meld into the ratatouille. Shake or stir the pans every 15 to 20 minutes or so, especially the onions.
• In the meantime, prepare the tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add tomatoes and blanch until the skins split, about 10 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to quickly transfer the tomatoes to a bowl filled with ice water.
• Using a paring knife, peel the cooled tomatoes (the skins should slip right off). Halve tomatoes across their equators. Set a sieve over a bowl. Working over the bowl, use your fingers to seed the tomatoes, letting the seeds catch in the sieve and the juice run into the bowl. Discard seeds but save juices. Dice tomatoes and add to the reserved juices in bowl.
• Finely grate or mince remaining garlic clove. Add garlic to tomatoes along with bay leaves and a large pinch of salt. Set aside.
• Once vegetables are done cooking, combine them on one baking sheet or a large shallow baking dish and add ingredients from tomato bowl. Toss well. Vegetables will be stacked, and that's O.K. Cover generously with olive oil, using remaining ¼ cup oil or more, and sprinkle with salt. Everything should have a good coat of oil, but should not be drowning in it. Cook at least 1 hour, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes, until vegetables are very tender and imbued with juices and oil. Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve warm, or let cool.

BAKED RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat oil in a heavy, large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic; stir 1 minute.
• Add eggplant, green bell peppers, tomatoes, onion, zucchini and basil. Saute for 5 minutes.
• Cover and simmer until all vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes.
• Uncover pot and simmer until juice thickens, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
• Mix in vinegar; season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Spread in 9-inch pie dish.
• Sprinkle with cheese, if desired.
• Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.