Ratatouille And Goat Cheese Salad With Pesto Vinaigrette Food

EASY VEGETABLE RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 (220 C) degrees.
• Peel the eggplant, if desired, or leave some of the skin on in strips. Trim off the stem and sliced into quarters lengthwise, then slice into 1-inch thick half moons.
• Put the eggplant in a large bowl with the zucchini, bell pepper and onion. Drizzle with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and the chopped thyme and toss together.
• Pour the tomato puree into a 4-5 quart casserole or baking dish. Stir in the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, garlic, red and black pepper and spread over the bottom of the dish.
• Arrange the vegetables in the dish in one layer. Top with the sliced tomatoes and thyme sprigs. Bake 30-35 minutes. The juices should be bubbling and the eggplant tender when pierced with a the tip of a knife. Remove the thyme stems (you can crumble the leaves over the dish first).
• Sprinkle the goat cheese over the ratatouille and drizzle with the pesto. Serve warm or at room temperature.

BAKED RATATOUILLE & GOAT'S CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a heavy frying pan and gently cook the red onion and garlic for 5 mins until just starting to brown. Scatter over the aubergine and red pepper and sizzle for another 4 mins, adding more oil if you need to. Season well and stir through the paprika, then splash in the vinegar and soy sauce. Pour over the passata, then simmer for 5 mins until glossy and thick. Turn off the heat. Can be made up to two days ahead and kept in the fridge.
• To make the cheese sauce, heat the milk in a heavy saucepan until simmering. In a separate pan, melt the butter and add the flour. Stir to make a paste. Slowly whisk in the hot milk and simmer gently for 2-3 mins, stirring continually until thickened slightly. Stir in the parmesan and season.
• Tip the ratatouille into an ovenproof dish, then completely cover it with the cheese sauce. Crumble over the goat's cheese and arrange the courgette slices on top in concentric circles, alternating between green and yellow if you have them. Can be assembled several hours before cooking.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Brush or drizzle the remaining oil over the courgette slices and season with sea salt. Bake in the oven for 25-30 mins until the courgettes are cooked through and starting to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 mins before serving.

SHEET-PAN RATATOUILLE WITH GOAT CHEESE AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees, and arrange two racks in the top and bottom thirds.
• On one rimmed 13-by-17-inch sheet pan, toss together onion slices, zucchini, 1/4 cup oil, 3 thyme springs, 2 rosemary sprigs, 3 garlic cloves and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• On a second rimmed baking sheet, toss together eggplant, red peppers, 1/4 cup oil, 3 thyme sprigs, 2 rosemary sprig, 3 garlic cloves and 3/4 teaspoon salt.
• Place one tray on the top rack, and a second on the bottom rack of the oven. Roast both for 40 minutes, stirring vegetables two or three times.
• Add tomatoes to the baking sheet with eggplant and peppers, then continue to roast until the tomatoes burst and the zucchini turn deeply golden brown, another 20 to 25 minutes. The vegetables will become very caramelized, and that's a good thing, particularly with the zucchini and onions.
• Transfer zucchini and onions to the baking sheet with eggplant, mix well, and spread in an even layer (it will just fit). Drizzle vegetables with another 1 tablespoon oil, then sprinkle goat cheese and olives over the top. Roast until goat cheese is soft and warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Transfer vegetables to a serving platter, drizzle with a little more oil and squeeze juice from the one of the lemon wedges over the top. Garnish with basil leaves. Serve hot or warm, with more lemon wedges on the side.

RATATOUILLE WITH GOAT'S CHEESE & HERBY CRUMBLE

Steps:

• Cut the aubergines and courgettes into thick slices, no thinner than 2cm/3⁄4in, then cut all the slices across in half. Set aside. Cut the peppers in half, remove and discard the seeds, then cut the peppers into bite-sized chunks. Set aside.
• Heat 5 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large pan, add the onions and garlic and gently fry for 8-10 minutes. Add the aubergines, courgettes and peppers and fry for a further 10 minutes. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, season well, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the chopped basil and leave aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, for the crumble, put the bread into a food processor and blend to fine crumbs. Add the pesto, herbs, the remaining olive oil and plenty of seasoning, then blend again.
• Cut the goat's cheese into large bitesized pieces and fold through the ratatouille. Spoon into a 2 litre/31⁄2 pint ovenproof dish. Sprinkle the herby crumb mixture over the top of the ratatouille.
• Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas 5/fan oven 170C and bake the crumble for 25 minutes until golden.

PECAN CRUSTED GOAT CHEESE SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Slice goat cheese into 8 equal pieces. I like to cut the log in half, then cut each half in half, and so on until I have 8 slices.
• Add pecans, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and a large pinch of salt and pepper to a food processor. Pulse until pecans are well minced and everything is combined. Transfer to a shallow bowl.
• Beat egg in a shallow bowl.
• Use hands to form slices of goat cheese into uniformly round pucks.
• Dip a slice into the egg mixture, allowing the excess to drip off.
• Then place it in the pecan mixture and use your other hand to move the slice around in the pecans, covering the entire surface with pecans. Gently push the pecans into the surface of the goat cheese. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining goat cheese slices.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the pecans turn dark golden brown but do not burn. Check on them around the 6 minute mark to make sure the pecans aren't getting too brown.
• In a mason jar combine all dressing ingredients and shake vigorously until emulsified.
• Assemble each salad with a bed of lettuce, a handful of roasted beets, a sprinkle of diced onion.
• Place 1-2 goat cheese rounds on each salad.
• Pour dressing over the salad and enjoy!

RATATOUILLE AND GOAT CHEESE SALAD WITH PESTO VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Make vinaigrette:
• In a blender or small food processor blend all vinaigrette ingredients with salt and pepper to taste until smooth. Vinaigrette may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring vinaigrette to room temperature before using on salads.
• Make ratatouille:
• Cut eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and bell peppers into 1/4-inch dice. In a large heavy skillet cook eggplant in 1 tablespoon oil over moderate heat, stirring, until tender and transfer to a bowl. In skillet cook zucchini, yellow squash, and onion with salt and pepper to taste in 1 tablespoon oil over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes, and transfer to bowl. Cook bell peppers in remaining teaspoon oil in same manner and transfer to bowl. Stir in tomato purée, garlic, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste and cool ratatouille completely.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. and cut a large sheet of parchment paper into eight 5-to-6 inch squares.
• On a work surface put a 3-inch metal pastry ring (at least 1 1/2 high) in middle of 1 parchment square and fill it with 1/3 cup ratatouille, pressing evenly and tightly into bottom. Cut goat cheese into 8 equal pieces and flatten each piece to form a 3-inch disk. Top ratatouille in ring with goat cheese disk, pressing lightly at edges to cover ratatouille completely. Transfer round on parchment square to a large baking sheet and remove ring. Make 7 more rounds in same manner with remaining parchment squares, ratatouille, and goat cheese. Bake rounds in middle of oven 8 to 10 minutes, or until heated through.
• While rounds are baking, in a large bowl toss mesclun with 1/4 cup vinaigrette and divide among 8 plates.
• With a spatula transfer a round to center of each salad. Drizzle each salad with about 1 teaspoon vinaigrette and garnish with tomatoes.

GRILLED RATATOUILLE SALAD WITH FETA CHEESE

Steps:

• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Place eggplant, zucchini, red bell pepper and onion on baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; turn to coat. Grill vegetables until tender and tinged with brown, turning frequently, about 6 minutes for eggplant and zucchini and about 10 minutes for red bell pepper and onion.
• Divide vegetables between 2 plates; drizzle with vinegar. Sprinkle cheese and basil over and serve.

RATATOUILLE PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Peel eggplant, and cut into 3/4 inch cubes; sprinkle evenly with salt.
• Place in a large shallow pan.
• Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until tender.
• Uncover and set aside.
• Saute onion and next 4 ingredients in 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven until vegetables are crisp-tender.
• Add eggplant, pasta, remaining olive oil, and next 4 ingredients, tossing gently.
• Cover and chill at least 1 hour.