How to Make Easy Colorful Veggies Ratatouille Casserole!
Autumn just arrived and I started to look through all the recipes I’ve collected and made over the years. This colorful Veggies Ratatouille Casserole was just waiting to be made again – it is a family favorite!
After watching the movie Ratatouille for the first time way back when my daughter was still in elementary school, she was all fired up to try this dish. Remy, the leading mouse in the movie, is a top class French chef who has a penchant to put together mouthwateringly delicious dishes. He was quite the quirky and loveable character. She begged and asked in the nicest way possible and so how could I say no?
I did a bit of research and found a recipe by Julia Child that calls for slicing the vegetables thinly and then laying them neatly in a baking dish. It makes a beautiful dish to serve at the table. After making this a first time it has been tweaked and adjusted with each bake since.
I like that ratatouille is so flavorful and beautiful to serve and eat. Even though it looks difficult, it is NOT so. A kitchen slicer mandoline is your friend for this recipe. The base has 5 veggies: eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, colorful peppers and tomato paste. Add in some garlic and some seasoning and that’s it! Let’s cook!
Ingredients
1 can tomato paste, 6 oz.
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
3-4 Tbs olive oil for sauce and drizzling
½ cup water
2 small, or 1 large eggplant, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
3 peppers – 1 each red, orange and green pepper, sliced
6 fresh basil leaves or fresh herbs of your choice
1 tsp dried parsley, thyme, basil or your favorite herb
salt and pepper to taste
You will also need a small sauce pan to cook the sauce, a mandoline or a very sharp kitchen knife, and a large casserole dish for this dish.
Putting Colorful Veggies Ratatouille Casserole together
Gather all the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease casserole dish with olive oil. Heat the small sauce pan on low.
Start by preparing the onions and garlic. Heat the pan to medium and drizzle with about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté the onions till translucent, 1-2 minutes. Add in the chopped garlic, and stir for another minute. When fragrant, remove pan from heat and set aside.
Add tomato paste, water, and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the sautéed onion and garlic in the pan. Stir to combine until you have a nice thick sauce. Add salt and ground pepper to taste. When ready, pour this sauce evenly across the bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Set aside.
Wash and pat dry the vegetables. Thinly slice the vegetable with the kitchen mandoline or a very sharp kitchen knife, about ¼” thick. Then, lightly salt eggplant slices to remove moisture. Drizzle all veggies lightly with olive oil.
Start arranging the sliced vegetables from the far edge of the casserole dish, working inwards in a spiral manner. Alternating the veggies will give them a beautiful pattern and color. I love this part of the making this dish – I get to play with my food!
When done arranging, drizzle with remaining olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and sprinkle on the dried herbs.
Next, bake in preheated oven for 40 – 45 minutes, or until the veggies are soft and roasted. Finally, remove from heat and enjoy. Bon Appetit!
Notes on Colorful Veggies Ratatouille Casserole
Here are a few more pictures of variations I’ve made using slightly different patterns and casserole dishes. Have fun making your own design!
Postscript: Have you watched the movie Ratatouille? Even though it’s primarily targeted at kids, this wonderful wholesome movie can be enjoyed by the whole family! No, I’m not paid to say this! 😁 Just wanted to share the good stuff.
Easy Colorful Veggies Ratatouille Casserole
Equipment
- small sauce pan
- kitchen mandoline
- large casserole dish, oven safe
Ingredients
- 1 can tomato paste, 6 oz.
- 1 onion, chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3-4 Tbs olive oil for sauce and drizzling
- ½ cup water
- 1 eggplant, sliced
- 1 zucchini, sliced
- 1 yellow squash, sliced
- 1 each red, orange and green pepper, sliced
- 6 fresh basil leaves or fresh herb of your choice
- 1 tsp dried parsley, thyme, basil or your favorite herb
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease casserole dish with olive oil. Heat the small sauce pan on low
- Start by preparing the onions and garlic. Heat the pan to medium then drizzle with about 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Sauté the onions till translucent, 1-2 minutes. Add in the chopped garlic, and stir for another minute. When fragrant, remove pan from heat and set aside.
- Add tomato paste, water, and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the sautéed onion and garlic in the pan. Stir to combine until you have a nice thick sauce. Add salt and ground pepper to taste. When ready, pour this sauce even across the bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Set aside.
- Wash and pat dry the vegetables. Thinly slice the vegetable with the kitchen mandoline or a very sharp kitchen knife, about ¼" thick. Lightly salt the eggplants to draw out moisture. Drizzle all veggies lightly with olive oil. Start arranging the sliced vegetables from the farthest edge of the casserole dish, working inwards in a spiral manner. Alternating the veggies will give them a beautiful pattern and color. When done, drizzle with remaining olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and sprinkle on the dried herbs.
- Pop into the preheated oven and bake for 40 – 45 minutes, or until the veggies are soft and roasted. Remove from heat and enjoy. Bon Appetit!
Notes
More Fab Food Ideas:
With the weather cooling down in most of the Northern hemisphere, try this Japanese meat and potatoes stew for a delicious dinner =>Japanese Nikujaga: The Best Meat And Potatoes Comfort Dish
Do you like your bread with a bit of heat? Check out how I made this delicious Spicy Spiral Cheese Bread from scratch => Spicy Spiral Cheese Bread
Have you ever tried cooking a dish in a foil packet? This technique is called “en papillote” in French. See how I whip out delicious dinner that requires short hands-on prep and let the foil and oven do the rest =>Quick Sausage En Papillote: Awesome Recipe from Jacques Pepin
Have you ever tasted a crescent roll stuffed with cream cheese? I was experimenting with new filling and came up with a plain and spicy version. See how I made them from scratch here => How to make Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls: Spicy and Plain!
