Ratatouille Redo Food

THE BEST RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering, about 1 minute. Add the bell peppers, onion and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent and the bell peppers have softened slightly, about 10 minutes. Add the eggplant, the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until the eggplant is very soft, about 8 minutes. Add the zucchini and continue to cook, stirring often, until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste and red pepper flakes, if using. Cook, stirring often, until the zucchini has softened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the tomatoes, bring to a simmer and then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the ratatouille has reached a thick stew-like consistency, about 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley and basil with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into a bowl and sprinkle with more fresh parsley and basil before serving.

RATATOUILLE REDO

Steps:

• Slice eggplant into 1/4" rounds, place in a bowl or baking dish, and sprinkle with salt. Set aside for about 30 minutes.
• Fill a medium saucepan about halfway full of water and heat until it's almost boiling. Place the tomatoes in the hot water and leave until the skin starts peeling, or 3 minutes. Remove from hot water and set aside to let them cool.
• Chop bell peppers, Anaheim pepper, onions, and garlic. Keep the garlic separate, as it will be added to the mix later.
• Pour 2 - 3 tablespoons of oil in a 12" saute pan and heat until oil is shimmering. Add the peppers and onion at this time. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring frequently until onions start becoming transparent.
• Add garlic.
• At this time, transfer the veggies to a large saucepan to accommodate the tomatoes.
• By now the tomatoes should be cool to the touch. Peel them with your fingers, chop them up then add to the veggie mix, juice and all.
• Let simmer on low-medium heat for 15 minutes. Check your salt at this time, and add more if needed.
• While the veggies are simmering, drain the now sweaty eggplant slices and place them on paper toweling for them to dry.
• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Slice the zucchini into 1/4" rounds.
• Using an emulsifier or blender, mix the veggies, in shifts, until the texture is smoothed out to your liking.
• Spoon 1 - 1 1/2 cups of the sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 9 casserole or baking dish. Layer eggplant and zucchini slices any way you want. I went with the circular look and ended up being a little short on the second layer - oh, well! Due to the wide variance of vegetable sizes, this may or may not be an issue for you.
• Pour another 1 - 1 1/2 cups of sauce on first layer, and repeat the layering process. Add any leftover sauce on the top, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Cover with a tight-fitting lid or foil and place in your now hot oven for 30 minutes, then remove cover and let cook for an additional 10 minutes.
• Serve with mashed potatoes or rice for a heavenly vegetarian meal, or eat it all by itself. Enjoy!

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.

RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir garlic until lightly browned. Mix in parsley and eggplant. Cook and stir until eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
• Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Spread zucchini in an even layer over top. Lightly salt and sprinkle with a little more cheese. Continue layering in this fashion, with onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes, covering each layer with a sprinkling of salt and cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.