Time To Give A Rat About Ratatouille

Being a foodie which is why this website was created, I personally like taking the elegant approach to food but that doesn’t mean you always have to. Elegant food doesn’t taste better but an interesting psychological process occurs. When food is arranged or displayed in a certain way to look “pretty” the mind looks at the food and goes “wow, that looks delicious. I want some”.

The eyes often tell the mind the food looks good, it’s safe to eat and therefore it should be eaten. The mind then triggers the salivatory glands, the hand reaches for a fork or spoon and eating begins.

I hope you enjoy this recipe courtesy of Allrecipes, it has been modified quite a bit and you are more than welcome to check out the original recipe. The link is located at the bottom of the page.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh parsley
• 1 Chinese eggplant (the long thinner kind), sliced into 1⁄4  inch rings. 
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 green zucchini, sliced into 1⁄4  rings
• 1 yellow squash sliced into 1⁄4 ring
• 1 large onion rough chopped
• 1 cups diced mushrooms
• 1 green bell pepper rough chopped
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 14.5 oz can whole peeled tomatoes (blend this along with garlic to make a raw tomato sauce)
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme (stems removed so you only have the leaves)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 can cooking spray

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Heat a small sauce pot no medium heat. Add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil as well as the chopped mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms until they have shrunk and no more moisture appears in the pan 3-4 minutes. Add the onions and bell peppers and cook until the onions turn translucent 4-5 minutes. Pour the blended raw tomato garlic sauce into the pot. Simmer on low for 15 minutes. Once the sauce has simmered for 15 minutes turn off the heat, add the fresh thyme and parsley. Stir making sure the herbs are well mixed. Season tomato sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Grease the bottom of a skillet or round dutch oven with cooking spray. Pour in roughly 1⁄2 of tomato sauce then evenly spreading the sauce on the the bottom of the pot. Arrange the sliced tomato, green zucchini, yellow zucchini, and eggplant alternating between colors in concentric circles (feel free to get creative at this point). Pour the remaining sauce over the arranged vegetables.
3. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, sprinkle with parmesan cheese then bake for 10-15 minutes allowing cheese to turn golden brown.

Recipe Source: Modified from Lynette Marie at Allrecipes

Photo Source: tomagado