A flavorful, simple recipe that is sure to impress even the most discerning Anton Egos. That is, unless you post a picture of this on reddit… “That’s Tian!!” seemed to be quite the popular retort when I posted this. Trolls aside, this dish is still one of my favorite recipes to make when I feel like having a veggie-forward meal that pleases the eyes as much as the mouth.
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I am writing this today with a broken thumb, so please forgive any grammar errors as this is quite difficult to do. Apparently holding a dry ice bomb as it goes off is not ideal if you are fond of your hands. Speaking of things that are difficult when you are down a hand, chopping all these veggies! A mandoline was a life saver on this recipe even without a messed-up hand.
When I have made this recipe in the past, I haven’t used a béchamel sauce, but figured if I’m going to take some pretty pictures, I might as well add in some flair. If you’d like your ratatouille to remain veg/vegan, you can omit this step and still have a wonderful meal.
Typically, ratatouille consists of whatever leftover veggies you have in your pantry/fridge and making sort of a stew with them roughly chopped up and placed in a tomato sauce. The method I chose is quite a bit more involved but is not necessary to achieve the complex flavor. One especially important tip I’ll share if you plan on using eggplant as I have is to slice it very thin and salt both sides. After you have salted the eggplant, allow them to rest on some paper towels to draw out any excess water so they don’t become chewy after cooking. (you don’t want chewy eggplant, trust me).
One last tip would be to expect an excess of veggies once you have them all sliced up, I usually make two pans when I make this recipe. One I make pretty with the correct order of veggies, and the second is a grab-all of the leftover sliced up veggies in a slightly-less pretty organization. Sauce selection is also quite important, don’t grab some Prego tomato sauce, go for the fancy brand that you can’t quite pronounce.
Remy’s Ratatouille
A flavorful, simple recipe that is sure to impress even the most discerning Anton Egos.
Ingredients
For the ratatouille
- 2-4 cups canned tomato sauce high quality tomato basil sauce
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3-4 sprigs thyme
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 3 tsp herbs de Provence (optional)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 eggplant (thinly sliced)
- 1 yellow squash (thinly sliced)
- 1 zucchini (thinly sliced)
- 2-3 roma tomatoes (thinly sliced)
- salt and pepper to taste
For the Béchamel Sauce
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup 2% milk (or whole milk) warm, or room temp
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp turmeric (for color)
- 2 tsp MSG (yeah I know, but trust me)
Instructions
To make the béchamel sauce
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Heat 1 tbsp butter in a medium sauce pan over med heat. Once melted, add in 1 tbsp flour and cook until it smells nutty (1-2 min). Add in the warm milk slowly while whisking constantly to break up clumps. Once milk is fully incorporated, add in salt, pepper, nutmeg, and MSG. Stir to combine and set aside.
To make the ratatouille
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Preheat oven to 375°F, slice all vegetables thinly using a mandolin. Salt each side of the eggplant and let rest on a layer of paper towels to sweat.
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Spray bottom of cast iron skillet with spray oil or spread a thin layer of EVOO along the bottom. Pour in your tomato sauce, sprinkle your minced garlic, thyme, and chili flakes over the top along with herbs de Provence (optional). Drizzle the béchamel sauce over the top of this.
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Arrange sliced vegetables in a repeating pattern along the outside wall of the skillet working inward. (it helps to gather a stack in your hand first, then place in the pan vs. one slice at a time) Once sliced vegetables have covered the tomato sauce, drizzle olive oil over top and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme.
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Cut parchment paper to fit inside skillet and cover. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Allow to cool and serve with some homemade focaccia bread (recipe to come)
Recipe Notes
I essentially doubled this recipe when I took pictures, feel free to make as many pans as you’d like. A standard baking sheet will also work if you don’t have a cast iron skillet. MSG might not be your typical pantry staple, but I’d implore you to add it and give it a chance (it’s in more things than you’d think)