Ratatouille

From the French term touiller, to toss food, ratatouille is believed to have originated as a dish made by peasants around Nice in the Provence region of France as ratatouille niçoise, influenced from neighboring Spanish and Italian cuisine. Essentially a stewed vegetable dish, ratatouille generally contains eggplant, summer squash, bell peppers and tomatoes, which are baked, braised, roasted, sautéed or stewed with various herbs, garlic and onion. Because ratatouille can be made any number of ways using any number of ingredients, it is an easy and delicious dish to prepare and serve as an entrée, side dish or leftover. Baking the vegetables gives helps retain their integrity and them a rich flavor. Socca, beets and tangerines or polenta go well to compliment ratatouille.

1 small eggplant, thinly sliced into rounds

1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced into rounds

1 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced into rounds

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into rounds

1 large tomato, diced

1 tbsp basil, roughly chopped

1 tsp parsley, roughly chopped

1 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until lightly browned, 5-10 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Stir in the garlic and tomatoes and continue sautéing until the tomatoes are tender and beginning to form a sauce. Fold in the basil and parsley, simmer until herbs are fragrant and remove from heat. Cool slightly before placing tomatoes in a food processor, purée into a fine sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread sauce evenly on the bottom of a medium baking dish, roughly 9"x9". Layer the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and red bell pepper evenly on the sauce. Drizzle the remaining olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper.

3. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake until vegetables are tender and lightly browned on top, 30-45 minutes. Remove the ratatouille from the oven and set aside to cool slightly. Top with Parmesan, goat or cheese of choice and serve ratatouille warm or room temperature.

Serves 3-4