Ratatouille, movie style

Ratatouille holds quite a bit of meaning for me.

When Disney-Pixar released their incredibly adorable movie in 2007, I fell in love with Remy like everyone else. I loved the tough-talking Colette, voiced by Janeane Garofalo (did you know that?!). It came out during my “I am obsessed with all things French” phase, adding fuel to an already raging fire.

As a dish it will forever be sentimental, reminding me of my first “date” with Brandon, which I later wrote about in my first food column. Two years ago I prepared his mother’s recipe for a fledgling cooking show on the local access channel.

The chunky peasant version always awakens memories of home. But this fancy, movie-inspired dish called for a special occasion. I made it for my roommate when we were both hit with the first sharp pangs of homesickness. We ate it together on her bedroom floor, watching a marathon of The Office.

I used a jarred tomato sauce to save time and money, though you’re welcome to use a homemade version. Something thick and well-seasoned works best – steer clear of the overly sweet jarred sauces that plague the shelves. This dish goes very well with plain cous cous and soft goat cheese.

It’s nearly impossible to find yellow squash in my area. If this is the case for you, just substitute an extra courgette. Alternatively, use one red and one yellow bell pepper for color. I’ve done both in the dish pictured above.

Ratatouille’s Ratatouille

Originally envisioned by Smitten Kitchen and adapted for AFC readers

1 1/2 cups jarred tomato sauce (I’m loving everything from this roundup here)
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small eggplant, ends trimmed
1 zucchini/courgette, ends trimmed
1 yellow squash, ends trimmed
1 red pepper
A few sprigs fresh thyme
A pinch of dried Herbs de Provence
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Pour tomato sauce into the bottom of a large, oval baking dish (approximately 10″ long). Stir in the crushed garlic and season to taste.

As carefully as you can, trim the ends off the red pepper and remove the core, leaving the edges intact, like a tube. Carefully cut into thin slices of about 1/4-1/2″ thickness. They should be intact circles.

With a sharp knife, cut the eggplant, squash and zucchini into 1/2″ rounds. It’s best to cut the squashes on a diagonal, to get bigger slices.

Atop the tomato sauce, arrange slices of prepared vegetables concentrically from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, alternating vegetables and overlapping so just a bit of each is visible. You may have a handful that do not fit – just eat them!

Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the vegetables and season them generously with salt and pepper. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs with your fingertips, running them down the stem. Sprinkle the fresh thyme and dried Herbs de Provence over the dish.

Cover with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside the dish.

Bake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, until vegetables have released their liquid and are clearly cooked, but with some structure left so they are not totally limp. They should not be brown at the edges, and you should see that the tomato sauce is bubbling up around them.