COOK AND BE HAPPY !: RATATOUILLE - CLASSIC FRENCH STEW

Today's special is RATATOUILLE!

Ratatouille is a classic French stew that’s fun to say (rat-tuh-TOO-ee) and fun to make 😁 and just as fun to eat.... Yum yum 😋😋
It’s packed with fresh produce: tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash, bell pepper, onions and cilantro.

For my husband, weekends have always been for relaxing, spending time with family, playing basketball and above all..........

...............Cooking !

Off-late, due to excessive work load, he was unable to fuel his passion for cooking ! 💁🏻‍♀️
Luckily, this weekend, he got around to scheduling some much wanted time off 🥰

RATATOUILLE is a super tasty and relatively straightforward dish to cook.
Hubby did all the chopping and cooking/baking. Our son also helped us with the layering of the dish.
I was a Sous-Chef and I super welcomed the change😁

Let's get cooking!

Ingredients:

1 Red onion
1 medium size Aubergine
2 medium tomatoes
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Orange Bell Pepper
1 Red Bell Pepper
2 Zucchini
2 yellow squash
2 cans pureed tomatoes(equivalent to 6-7 Medium Sized Tomatoes)
2 tbsp minced garlic
Handful of Cilantro
Handful of Basil
2 tsp Paprika
Oil for sauteing
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

Prep all the ingredients.

Dice the Bell Peppers and Onions uniformly.

Saute the onions on medium heat till the onions are lightly translucent.

Add the diced bell peppers to the onions.

Add freshly crushed pepper and Paprika. Mix well.

Now, add the Tomato Puree. Mix well and let the mixture cook for a few minutes.

Add half of the chopped Cilantro.

Let this mixture cook on medium heat for 7-8 minutes.

In the meanwhile, slice the zucchini, squash, aubergine and the tomatoes uniformly.

Prepare the herb seasoning for the RATATOUILLE by mixing the remaining cilantro with basil, olive oil, crushed garlic and salt.

Once the tomatoes are cooked, transfer them to an oven-proof casserole.

at this stage, Preheat the oven for 375˚F (190˚C).

Now, we need to start layering our RATATOUILLE !!

Beginning on the edge of the pan, place slices on top of tomato mixture in alternating patterns. First Yellow Squash, then Aubergine, then zucchini and finally tomato.

Repeat until the casserole has been covered.

Get your kids to help with the layering .......

Almost there !!

All done !

Sprinkle some Freshly Crushed black pepper and add the herb seasoning.

Cover it with aluminium foil and bake in a pre-heated oven. Bake for 40 minutes. Uncover, then bake for another 20 minutes, until the vegetables are softened.