Ratatouille

By Cookbad

I'm a big advocate of cooking in season, so this dish makes me a big hypocrite, but might inspire some garden choices, which it IS the season for.

So, here is a recipe for how to make Ratatouille, just like in the movie!!!

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 shallots, diced
1 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes, peeled)
3 tablespoons grated carrots
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1 bay leaf
2 roasted red peppers, diced. Rinsed and patted dry if jarred
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Roma tomatoes
1 zucchini
1 Chinese eggplant
1 yellow squash
1 clove minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper

First you make a base sauce. In a skittle or cast iron pan add olive
oil, garlic and shallots over low-medium heat. Cook until soft, 7-9
minutes. Add tomatoes, carrots, marjoram, bay leaf. Simmer for 10
minutes. Lower heat and add peppers Cook just long enough to combine
the flavors. Remove from heat and discard bay leaf. In either the
skillet you cooked the sauce in, or a round/oval casserole dish (8-10
inches), evenly spread the sauce.

Using a mandolin or very sharp knife, slice tomatoes, squash, zucchini
and eggplant as thinly as possible. Less than 1/8 an inch if possible.

In you prepared sauce dish lay down a strip of overlapping or your
vegetables. Zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes then spring squash. Leaving
a bit of each layer exposed. This strip should start and end about an
inch from either end of the pan. Continue to layer in a spiral
formation around the center strip, slightly overlapping towards the
center. Keep going until either you have used all the vegetables, or
the pan is filled.

Cover with either the lid of the skillet, or a couple layers of foil
and bake at 300 for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove lid and return to
oven for another 10 minutes. This dish can be made a day ahead, so
either cover and store or broil for 10-15 minutes until it just starts
to brown. Serve from dish hot or cold.
Makes 4 servings.