Layered Ratatouille

Ratatouille

How about making some Layered Ratatouille, baked and some couscous this week?

Please tell me, I am the only one who is finding the weather a bit weird this week. We are in Mid October now! Instead of feeling biting autumn chillness, there is some warm air in the radar.. Probably in many many years, please have resorted to wearing Shorts and Tee this week.. I have turned on the oscillating fan in our room… Oh yes, and today we are seeing Red Sun in the sky due to Hurricane Ophelia..
Ratatouille

Ratatouille

Weird Climate!! Aah… speaking about this weather, How did you guys maximise your weekend?

Well, with Diwali falling on Thursday, I We have been cleaning the house thoroughly, preparing the house for the festive season ahead. I have been removing the old mouldy silicone on my kitchen counter and laying a fresh one.. Painted patches of walls in kitchen , just to make it all fresh, nice and clean…

How lovely Isn’t it??

Ratatouille

Before I get talking about Diwali celebrations, cutoms, sweets & savory preparation, let me tell you a little more about Ratatouille. It might look a bit of a tedious task… But its not. A mandoline slicer is your best friend for this recipe. A traditional Ratatouille is prepared by cubing the vegetables and adding them to sauce.. But I do believe that sometimes a little extra effort in presentation goes a long way and we tend to enjoy our food better..
I have sliced them thin and arranged them in layers..Its a lot of fun, trying to alternate the vegetables and getting the perfect shape.

Ratatouille

Prep Time: 20 Min | Total Time Taken 1.5 hours | Serves 4
Ratatouille

Ingredients
1 Large Aubergine , trimmed
1 Courgette, trimmed
2 Medium Onions, peeled and trimmed
Long Yellow Bell Peppers,cored
Long Red Bell Peppers,cored

2 Tsp Olive Oil
220g finely Chopped Tomatoes
120ml Water
1/2 Tsp Chilli Powder
1 Tsp Onion Powder
1/2 Tsp Oregano Powder
1 Clove of Garlic, minced
Handful of chopped Basil

Salt & Pepper to taste
Lemon Zest
Parmesan Cheese ( Optional)
Olive Oil

Directions
Heat Oil in a SaucePan, add minced garlic. Saute for 1 minute and add chopped tomatoes. Add Chilli Powder, Onion Powder, Oregano Powder and Handful of finely chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper.
Add 120ml of water, cover with shatterproof lid and cook in medium flame until all the tomatoes get mushy and tomato sauce comes together. This can take about 10 minutes.

Trim the top of the Peppers and core. Trim the ends of aubergines and courgettes. Peel the onions.

Meanwhile,adjust the blade slicer in the mandoline slicer to 1/16inch and slice the aubergines,courgettes,onions thin.
Cut the peppers medium to thin as desired using a knife. We like it a bit chunkier.

Preheat the oven to 190 degree C.

Spread 3/4 portion of prepared tomato sauce into the bottom of a cast iron skillet. Alternate the slices of vegetables in order of aubergines, courgettes, peppers and onions starting from the outer circle, finishing to the middle.
Pour the remaining sauce over the top.
Drizzle with Olive Oil , season with salt . Cover the pan with aluminium foil and bake for about 40-45 minutes at 190 degree C until roasted and tender. Just ensure the vegetables still retain their structure and they do not brown at the edges.
Grate lemon zest and if you like some parmesan cheese too on the top.
Serve Ratatouille warm with some bread or couscous!

There are many many recipes in my blog where you would need a Mandoline slicer.. – Beetroot CHips, Apple Cinnamon CHips

Disclosure: This recipe is commissioned for OXOUK.

Comments

Charlie Mace says

28th October 2017 at 5:12 pm

Oh my goodness, this looks absolutely stunning! The patience you must have had to put this together – a total showstopper! I’m always a little nervous with a mandolin – have this mantra in the back of my head saying “always use finger guard, always use finger guard” after a slip when I was younger and using one for the first time, lesson learnt! Lovely recipe, thank you! Charlie x