This One-Pan Ratatouille Will Make All Your Dreams Come True
No matter whether it's the start of summer, middle of summer, or summer is finally drawing to a close, on those hot summer nights, all you want is a quick, cool meal that's easy to prepare and filling, yet light. Is that so much to ask for? Of course not, at least not with the following recipe which will answer all your prayers.
You'll need:
For the main dish:
- 3 eggplants
- 5 tomatoes
- 3 large waxy potatoes
- 3 zucchini
- 3 mozzarella balls
- green pesto sauce
For the sauce:
- vegetable oil for cooking
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 15 fl oz tomato sauce
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves, cut into strips
- salt & pepper
Here's how:
1. First cut the eggplants, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, and mozzarella balls into thin slices and set everything to the side.
2. Add the oil to a cast iron skillet and cook the onions and garlic. Add the red and yellow bell peppers and stir vigorously. Top everything off with the tomato sauce and season with salt and pepper while the mixture is simmering. Stir again and sprinkle the fresh basil over the sauce.
3. Now it's time to layer. Take one slice of each of the sliced ingredients from Step #1 and place them upright and next to each other around the outer edge of the pan. Repeat this until you have filled the outer edge with a complete circle, and then continue with a smaller circle inside. Repeat until the entire pan is full.
4. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake the dish in the oven at 350°F for one hour.
5. Use a spoon to distribute pesto in a circle around the dish, making a pesto ring. This will make the delicious dish look (ant taste!) even better.
Tip: Easily make your own pesto by puréeing 2 chopped garlic cloves, 6 tablespoons of olive oil, a handful of fresh basil, 1 tablespoon of chopped thyme, salt, and pepper.
People will love this dish so much that the meat-lovers won't even notice that it's vegetarian! Which just goes to show, once again, that you don't need meat to make a satisfying meal — this colorful and healthy ratatouille is the perfect main dinner course any night of the week.