The Best Easy Baked Ratatouille Recipe

It’s time to learn how to make ratatouille! This baked ratatouille dish may look spectacular, but it’s surprisingly easy to put together, and packed with healthy and fresh vegetables. Serve it as side to chicken or fish, or make it the star of a vegetarian meal. No matter how you serve it, I think you’ll agree that it’s the best ratatouille recipe out there!
What Is Ratatouille?

Ratatouille is a French dish that traditionally has eggplant, tomatoes, and other veggies.

Sometimes traditional ratatouille is a stew made out of peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, and plenty of fresh herbs, but it’s also frequently made more like a casserole, like this one. The ratatouille sauce sits on the bottom and the veggies on top!

Do I Need To Peel Eggplant For Ratatouille?

No, you don’t have to peel the eggplant when you make ratatouille. If you want to peel the eggplant, you sure can. I prefer to leave the skin on for fiber, nutrients, color, and to prevent the eggplant from getting mushy during cooking.
Is Ratatouille Healthy To Eat?

Yes, ratatouille is healthy! It’s made up of all vegetables, so it’s full of nutrients and vitamins. This ratatouille recipe is particularly rich in vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, vitamin B6, and fiber.

The Best Easy Baked Ratatouille Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes   
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes   
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes   
Servings 4 servings
Calories 191 kcal

Ingredients

The Sauce

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic finely minced and mashed
• 1 medium red onion finely chopped
• 4 Roma/plum tomatoes ripe; deseeded if you wish; can use 1 tin of whole tomatoes, crushed (chopped ones can be bitter)
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves I like lemon thyme
• 8 cured black olives optional; stones removed and flesh chopped
• 1 350g jar of passata / tomato sauce
• 2 tsp finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar good stuff
• 1 bay leaf lightly crushed but still intact
• dash of sugar optional, for balance of acidity

The Vegetables

• 5 Roma / plum tomatoes
• 2 yellow peppers
• 2 medium yellow squash / summer squash if unavailable use more zucchini / courgettes
• 1 medium eggplant / aubergine
• 2 medium zucchini / courgette
• a few bay leaves
• a few sprigs of thyme
• extra olive oil for brushing

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan then add the chopped onion and garlic, sautéing over a low-medium heat until soft - about eight minutes. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and cook down to a soft mulch.
2. While the sauce is simmering, prep the vegetables. For the tomatoes, slice into thin rounds; zucchini, eggplant and squash, the same as the tomatoes. If you are using larger eggplant (I did), cut the rounds into half moons. For the peppers, slice away the sides to get four"squovals" and then cut these in half. If the peppers are very large cut these pieces in half again.
3. When the sauce is soft and pulpy, pour it into a greased dish or cast iron skillet.
4. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
5. Beginning at one edge of the dish start alternating the sliced vegetables in a semi-reclining, overlapping pattern. It really depends on the shape and angle of the dish. Brush with oil - garlic or herb-infused oil would be nice - and cover loosely with a sheet of foil.
6. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 10-20 minutes, or until tinged it takes on colour. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before eating warm or room temperature with hunks of French baguette, rice, or couscous. This is wonderful the next day and the next again, too. No need to reheat, just leave it to come to room temperature.

The Best Easy Baked Ratatouille Recipe #The #Best #Easy #Baked #Ratatouille #Recipe Dinner Recipes Healthy, Dinner Recipes Easy, Dinner Recipes For Family, Dinner Recipes Vegan, Dinner Recipes For Two, Dinner Recipes Crockpot, Dinner Recipes Chicken, Dinner Recipes With Ground Beef, Dinner Recipes Date Night, Dinner Recipes Summer, Dinner Recipes Quick, Dinner Recipes Mexican, Dinner Recipes Cheap, Dinner Recipes Fall, Dinner Recipes Vegetarian, Dinner Recipes Pasta, Dinner Recipes Keto,