Hey, ive made this recipe quite a few times now, and i think that with these improvements, you could have a 5 star dish:
1) Fry the onion with the aubergine and garlic. Otherwise the onions still stay crunchy when youve got them out of the oven.
2) You dont have to layer it if you dont want to. Its just if you need to be particularly careful over presentation.
3) In the last 5 minutes of cooking, take the lid off the casserole dish, to allow the parmesan to brown slightly
4) Leave the casserole lid off for the last 15 minutes of cooking, to try to evaporate the liquid that stores up at the bottom of the pan. Otherwise, you'll end up with a rataouille soup!
Anyway, thanks for sharing!
This is a flavorful, hearty recipe, but very low calorie. I served it as a main dish with couscous to soak up the liquid.
Like many other reviewers, I made a few adjustments based on the availability ingredients, and prices at the supermarket, but nothing major:
*I cooked everything in a crock pot on low for 8 hours (the house smelled wonderful!)
*I added only a little freshly grated romano cheese just before serving, instead of parmesan as the recipe calls for
*I added yellow squash in addition to the zucchini
I had enough ratatouille for dinner for my husband and myself, lunch the next day, dinner several days later, and frozen portions for an easy dinner this winter.
Great recipe!
I usually make a saute version of ratatouille, to keep the vegetables crispy, but this baked version came out with nice crisp vegetables too, and it was very easy to make. I added some thyme and rosemary, and a splash of white wine and served over rice to soak up the delicious juices. This is a perfect addition to my harvest season collection.
Excellent vegetarian dish! Instead of cooking it in the oven, I just sauteed the whole thing. I first cooked garlic and onion in olive oil, added the rest of the ingredients, put the cover on and cooked until the vegetables were tender (about 30+ minutes). Some changes I have made: One large tomato and one can of diced tomato instead of 2 tomatoes, added some basil, pinch of red pepper flakes and a drizzle of olive oil at the end, and sprinkled freshly grated romano cheese right before serving instead of mixing parmesan into the vegetables.
Will make it again!
After watching the Disney Movie "Ratatouille". My kids wanted to make the dish. I cut up all the veggies with a mandoline and let them layer everything into a baking dish. It was a wonderful accompaniment to parmesean chicken. Thanks for a wonderful recipe. Who would have thought a Disney movie would make my kids eager to eat their veggies.
Loved this! Aside from the chopping, very easy to prepare - popped it in the oven and had time to do other things while it baked. I did make a few changes: used 1 zucchini & 1 yellow squash, a whole 12 oz pkg of mushrooms,sliced, no green pepper (forgot to buy it, but don't really care for it anyway-may try red or orange next time), sprinkled a mix of chopped fresh parsley, basil & oregano over each layer, used a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh (but can't wait to try it with fresh tomatoes from the garden!), and added browned italian style turkey sausage for my meat-loving guys. I also forgot the parmesan on some of the layers, but added some shredded mozzarella on the top for the last 5 minutes or so of baking.
I used a 9x13 baking dish, and it just barely fit. As noted by other reviewers, 45 min didn't seem long enough, so I baked it for about 60, covered part of the time.
I served this over brown rice, which soaked up all that yummy liquid, and a nice Tuscan bread. Family loved it . . . will definitely make this again with all the fresh veggies from garden. Thanks for sharing!
I used the ingredients listed with the exception of the cheese and prepared it in a large saucepan instead of baking it. I added a little red wine one cup of tomato sauce a little thyme and rosemary. I cooked the mixture on medium heat until the extra liquid was absorbed. Prepared this way it was delicious by itself or over pasta.
Made this twice, and I feel a few little tips makes this go from great to fabulous. First, use a lot of eggplant (use a large eggplant, not a small or medium) as this is the "top" flavor. Press the garlic rather than mince for a bold garlic flavor in the eggplant. Remove the eggplant from the saute pan then lightly brown the onions in the same pan. If it's sticky, add a little water, but be sure to keep the browned bits from the eggplant/garlic mixture. This flavors the onions like you can't believe. Use both yellow and green zucchini squash if you can. Use FRESHLY grated Parmesan cheese. Use red, orange, or yellow bell pepper instead of the green to add a nice sweetness. Other than than, follow the recipe as written. It's really yummy!
I really liked this recipe. Cutting up all the vegetables was the only lengthy part. I added some paprika with each layer to add some spice to the dish!!! I was looking for a ratatoullie recipe that I like... this one sure qualifies!!!
