Vivid & Juicy Homemade Ratatouille Recipe
Equipment
- baking dish
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants
- 2 zucchini
- 3 tomatoes
- 3 potatoes
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup parsley chopped
Instructions
- Wash the vegetables
- Put potatoes to boil for 15 minutes; whole, unpeeled. The slice them in equal thin rounds
- Slice the zucchini and eggplants in rounds of same dimension
- Take a pan, pour a little olive oil and lightly fry the slices of eggplant and zucchini on both sides. Set aside on paper towel
- Slice the tomatoes in rounds
- Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Mix with mayo in a medium bowl
- Set oven at 180 degrees and have it preheated
- Take a baking sheet and spread a layer of garlic mayo at the bottom of it
- Form small sets of vegetables.
- Take one slice of potato and grease it with a little garlic mayo, then on top of it add a slice of eggplant, then grease it with some mayo. Then on top of it add one slice of tomato, then grease it with mayo and top it with the zucchini slice. Here you have one set. Arrange the vegetable set, then make another one and attach it to the composition. Do so until the baking dish is full.Â
- Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving
Healthy, tasty and colorful, the Mediterranean dish called Ratatouille is a must-try recipe. This meatless dish has its origins in the province of Nice, France. The fertile Mediterranean coast harvest inspired people to create a vivid and juicy dish out of vegetables only. Seasoned with fresh herbs like parsley or basil, this vegetarian recipe becomes even more appetizing and inviting.
What is Ratatouille
The Ratatouille is a traditional Provençal dish prepared with sliced vegetables arranged in a certain elegant way for a scenographic composition. Then, the composition is baked for about 30 minutes until soft. Ratatouille is usually served as a side dish to accompany meat, fish, vegetables and cheeses. It also makes a great appetizer for any occasion.
With time, Ratatouille has become a delicious vegan dish for a thousand uses. It can be cooked on and on from spring to summer especially when the vegetables are in season.
My easy ratatouille recipe
Ratatouille is a combination of fresh vegetables such as eggplants, zucchini, tomatoes, onions and bell peppers. I dared and changed some ingredients to my own taste. I added potatoes to this recipe as I wanted it to be heartier. Also, because everyone in my family simply adores potatoes in all its forms. The original Ratatouille recipe includes olive oil only, however, I came up with my own touch to the recipe. I used mayonnaise to grease each slice of the vegetables. And it was a success, hope you will like my idea and find it fit for your meal.
Ingredients for Ratatouille
This dish is like a symphony of delicious aromas and colors. The vegetables are the ones making a beautiful palette of colors and a tasty range of tastes. My ratatouille recipe combines delicious vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini, fresh tomatoes and potatoes. Also, to enhance the taste and make it even better I could not miss the garlic and the paprika powder. Mayonnaise will blend the tastes and deliver it as better as it can be.
For a better taste, make sure all your vegetables are fresh. My piece of advice is to avoid using large vegetables. I found out that smaller in size vegetables such as eggplant and zucchini are much tastier and preserve a better shape when being baked.
When choosing the vegetables, try to have them all of approximately the same diameter. When later cut, if vegetables are all of the same size, they will all get cooked simultaneously. Math rules very often apply in Cooking processes. However, passion is the key ingredient when it comes to doing magic in the kitchen.
For the delicious and colorfully magic Ratatouille, enough to feed 6 people, you will need:
- 2 medium eggplants
- 2 medium zucchini
- 3 medium Romaine tomatoes
- 3 medium potatoes
- 4-6 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅔ mayo
- 1 handful parsley to season
As you can see, only a few basic ingredients are enough to bring the Provencal taste in your kitchen. You will love every bite of it.
How to make Ratatouille?
After you have selected the freshest vegetables, have them washed under running water. Some people like to have the vegetables peeled, however, I keep the skin because I find it absolutely delicious upon baking.
Potatoes take more time to be ready, therefore, pre boil whole potatoes separately for about 15 minutes. When they’re done, do not take the skin off. Let them cook down a little so you can make finer cuts, so that it doesn’t crumble. Set aside the potato rounds, you’ll get back to them later.
While the potatoes are getting boiled, it is time to cut in equal slices the eggplant and zucchini. When done, heat a large skillet and have the slices of vegetables lightly fried on both sides. They will soak the oil and become beautifully golden. Set aside on a kitchen paper towel so that the grease is soaked by the paper. Do not use salt at this step. The salt will soften the vegetables too much. We need well shaped and formed rounds of the veggies.
Now slice the tomatoes and set aside. Do not forget about the garlic, peel it and chop it. In a bowl, mix the garlic with the mayo, it will add flavor to the dish.
Now preheat the oven and take a baking dish to hold the beautiful dish. You now have everything ready to assemble the Ratatouille.
How to assemble the Ratatouille
Spread a layer of garlic mayo at the bottom of the baking dish. The easiest way to form neat columns of vegetables is to form smaller sets. Here’s how you do it.
Take one slice of potato and grease it with a little garlic mayo, then on top of it add a slice of eggplant, then grease it with some mayo. Then on top of it add one slice of tomato, then grease it with mayo and top it with the zucchini slice. Here you have one set. Arrange the vegetable set, then make another one and attach it to the composition. Do so until the baking dish is full.
You will get beautifully colored neat columns of vegetables. Salt everything and put it in the preheated oven for 30 minutes at 180 degrees.
How to serve the Ratatouille
Once you take the dish from the oven, have it seasoned with some fresh parsley or basil. Let it rest for about 10 minutes. The vegetables will set and you will take it out easier in portions. Use a spatula to carefully serve the ratatouille without breaking its shape.
Serve with pleasure!
Vivid & Juicy Homemade Ratatouille Recipe
Equipment
- baking dish
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants
- 2 zucchini
- 3 tomatoes
- 3 potatoes
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup parsley chopped
Instructions
- Wash the vegetables
- Put potatoes to boil for 15 minutes; whole, unpeeled. The slice them in equal thin rounds
- Slice the zucchini and eggplants in rounds of same dimension
- Take a pan, pour a little olive oil and lightly fry the slices of eggplant and zucchini on both sides. Set aside on paper towel
- Slice the tomatoes in rounds
- Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Mix with mayo in a medium bowl
- Set oven at 180 degrees and have it preheated
- Take a baking sheet and spread a layer of garlic mayo at the bottom of it
- Form small sets of vegetables.
- Take one slice of potato and grease it with a little garlic mayo, then on top of it add a slice of eggplant, then grease it with some mayo. Then on top of it add one slice of tomato, then grease it with mayo and top it with the zucchini slice. Here you have one set. Arrange the vegetable set, then make another one and attach it to the composition. Do so until the baking dish is full.Â
- Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving
