The Italian Way Ratatouille Food

RATATOUILLE RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven for 375˚F (190˚C).
• Slice the eggplant, tomatoes, squash, and zucchini into approximately ¹⁄₁₆-inch (1-mm) rounds, then set aside.
• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch (30-cm) oven-safe pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion, garlic, and bell peppers until soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add the crushed tomatoes. Stir until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Remove from heat, then add the basil. Stir once more, then smooth the surface of the sauce with a spatula.
• Arrange the sliced veggies in alternating patterns, (for example, eggplant, tomato, squash, zucchini) on top of the sauce from the outer edge to the middle of the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
• Make the herb seasoning: In a small bowl, mix together the basil, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Spoon the herb seasoning over the vegetables.
• Cover the pan with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover, then bake for another 20 minutes, until the vegetables are softened.
• Serve while hot as a main dish or side. The ratatouille is also excellent the next day--cover with foil and reheat in a 350˚F (180˚C) oven for 15 minutes, or simply microwave to desired temperature.
• Enjoy!

DISNEY'S RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Spread tomato paste into the bottom of a 10x10-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with onion and garlic and stir in 1 tablespoon olive oil and water until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and black pepper.
• Arrange alternating slices of eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper, starting at the outer edge of the dish and working concentrically towards the center. Overlap the slices a little to display the colors. Drizzle the vegetables with 3 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle with thyme leaves. Cover vegetables with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside.
• Bake in the preheated oven until vegetables are roasted and tender, about 45 minutes. Serve with dollops of mascarpone cheese.

SOUTHERN ITALIAN RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the mushrooms and cook, without moving them, until brown on 1 side, about 1 minute. Continue to saute for another 1 to 2 minutes. Season mushrooms with salt and pepper and pour onto cookie sheet to cool. Set used pan aside.
• In a separate, clean skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic. Cook until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. In the pan where the mushrooms were, add 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add yellow squash. Cook until browned, about 1 to 2 minutes and drain onto same cookie sheet with mushrooms.
• Place peppers in hot pan where squash was cooking, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of thyme. When heated thoroughly, add peppers to waiting mushrooms and yellow squash. Add zucchini to the same pan, add remaining thyme, cook until browned, about 2 minutes. Pull both pans (onions and zucchini) off the heat, and add to cookie sheet with other vegetables.
• In the former zucchini/mushroom pan, cook leeks to soften, about 2 minutes. In the other, bring the tomatoes to a simmer. Season the leeks with salt and pepper, to taste, and add spinach. When spinach is wilted, add cooked leeks to cooling vegetables on cookie sheet. Add basil to the tomatoes, then add tomatoes to cookie sheet. Stir gently, and top with Parmesan and serve.

SLOW-COOKER ITALIAN-STYLE RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• 1) Place all ingredients in a 6-quart slow-cooker.
• 2) Cook on low for 8 hours. Can be served as is or over pasta along with garlic knots on the side.
• Note: If serving over pasta then instead of the broth use another 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes with basil. The broth is for if you're looking to make something more along the lines of a hearty soup/stew. Also the weights for the eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash are all approximate. If your eggplant and squashes are larger or smaller than that don't worry -- esp. if they happen to be larger. The larger the better IMHO as long as you have room in the slow-cooker!
• Variation: Tex-Mex ratatouille.
• Use two 28-oz. cans of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes instead and throw in the juice of 2 limes (or 8 packets of unsweetened TrueLime), 6 packets of mild taco seasoning, 1 bunch of fresh cilantro (chopped) instead of the Italian herbs (or 1 tube of Gourmet Garden fresh cilantro herb paste if you're lazy like me and don't like to do a lot of chopping LOL), and about 1 - 2 lbs. of cooked ground beef (or 2 packages of Gardein crumbles if looking to make a vegetarian version). This variation can be served either over rice or used as a filling for tacos or burritos.

RATATOUILLE WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Trim and discard the stems from the zucchini and summer squash and slice them into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.
• Peel the onion and dice into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces. Cut the peppers in half, remove and discard the stems and seeds, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Remove and discard the stem from the eggplant and cut into 3/4-inch chunks.
• Cut the Italian sausage into 1/4- to 3/8-inch-thick slices and place in a large stock pot. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until browned. Add the zucchini, squash, onion, and peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften. Add the eggplant and cook for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are almost tender. Stir in the tomatoes and Italian seasoning, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 10 minutes, or until all of the vegetables are cooked through. Serve warm.
• Food Trivia
• Everyone has their own version of how to cut an onion without crying. I'm not convinced that any of them work, but the most popular versions seem to be: 1) freeze the onions for half an hour before chopping; 2) peel them under running water; 3) don't slice the onion root, which releases the strongest fumes; 4) breathe through your nose while chopping. And we can't forget to include holding a piece of bread in your mouth as you chop, although I suggest you try this one when no one else is around.
• VEG OUT
• Do I even have to say you can leave out the Italian sausage?