Ratatouille

I got this recipe off Rachael Ray's website, it was fun to make and something different. It turned out better and wasn't as time consuming as I expected it to be!

This is the dish Remy whipped up in the hit movie Ratatouille! In order to make this one look as beautiful as it did on screen, look for veggies that are about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. If you have one available and are feeling extra fancy, use a mandoline to slice the vegetables, but don't sweat it if you don't have one, your knife will work just fine.

Ingredients
· 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus additional for drizzling
· 1 medium onion, chopped
· 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
· 2 jarred whole roasted red peppers, chopped
· 1 small (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
· Salt and ground black pepper
· 2 small yellow squash, thinly sliced
· 2 small green squash, thinly sliced
· 2 small eggplant, thinly sliced
· 2 to 3 small Yukon Gold potatoes or a handful of baby Yukon gold potatoes, thinly sliced
· 3 to 4 sprigs thyme, leaves removed


Preparation
Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the onion, garlic and roasted peppers to the pan and cook until the onions begin to get tender, 4-5 minutes.

Set up a food processor or blender and add the contents of the pan to the machine. Add in the tomato sauce and puree everything up (it should be about the consistency of thin tomato sauce). Season with salt and pepper and pour it out into the bottom of a casserole dish or sauté pan.
Swirl your dish around so that the bottom is evenly coated with sauce then arrange your veggies on top in a spiral pattern, alternating each veggie type, until you've filled the pan (like he did in the movie!).

Sprinkle the thyme leaves over the top along with some salt, pepper, and a drizzle of EVOO. Cut a piece of parchment paper (I used tin foil) into a round the size of the pan (if you're not feeling artsy-craftsy, you can also use a square sheet of paper: Cut four slits in from the corners towards the center of the sheet – this will lay over the top of the dish just fine too). Lay it over the top and place the whole pan into the oven. Bake the ratatouille until the veggies are tender, about 45 minutes. Yields: 4-6 servings

Serve the ratatouille with some crusty bread alongside.