RATATOUILLE
Ratatouille is a traditional French dish. I think one of the main reasons this dish is popular (I may be wrong) is because of the movie: “Ratatouille”- where the main star of the movie is an adorable mouse/rat, who happens to be a very talented chef. It’s definitely one of the main reasons that inspired me to try making this dish myself.
I don’t think my recipe is very typical, because many of the recipes that I have read involve stewing the veggies, which I haven’t done. But it turned out pretty good anyway :) and this was (yet again) another one of my first attempts at making this dish.
This dish would qualify as a vegetarian one. (I hear a few YAaaYs out there!!)
My recipe serves about 3–4 people. And I’d recommend it for dinner, not too light and at the same time not too heavy.
NOTE: Make sure all the veggies are approximately the same size, it adds to the presentation of the dish!
INGREDIENTS
2 Zucchini (Yellow & Green)
6 Tomatoes
6 Brinjal (Aubergine)
7–8 Capers (chopped)
4–5 Tablespoons Olive oil
Salt to taste
Grated Gruyere & Emmental cheese
(For the sauce)
8–10 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 Teaspoon (each) of dried Rosemary & Thyme
1 ½ Tablespoons fresh Parsley, chopped
7–8 Tablespoons (each) of Tomato sauce & Tomato paste
1 Teaspoon Salt
3 Teaspoons Sugar
3 Tablespoons Olive oil
A dash of water
METHOD
Slice the zucchini, tomatoes and aubergine into relatively thick pieces (refer to picture)
In a baking dish, arrange the veggies (red, yellow, green & purple) and keep doing this till you fill up the dish (refer to the first picture above) Then scatter the chopped capers over the veggies.
You can arrange the veggies in a round baking dish as well, in that case arrange the veggies starting from the inside and move outward in a circular manner.
Drizzle the olive oil and salt over all the veggies evenly. Then set the oven temperature to 200°C and bake for 35–40 minutes.
Simultaneously prepare the sauce…
(For the sauce)
In a nonstick pan, add the olive oil and chopped garlic and fry for 5 minutes. Then add the tomato sauce and paste and mix well. Lastly, add the rosemary, thyme, parsley, salt, sugar and water, mix well. Let the sauce simmer for 3–4 minutes before turning off the heat.
After the sauce is ready and the veggies are cooked, pour the sauce and grate both the cheeses over the veggies and return to the oven for 7–8 minutes so that the cheese melts. Serve HOT !
Originally published at samjd13.tumblr.com.
