Ratatouille

Source: Smitten Kitchen

I had a bunch of zucchini and some homemade goat cheese ready,  and have been wanting to try this for a while so I went for it. Delicious and light!  I can only imagine how much better it would be with all the different veggies in it.  I also added some ground beef for some protein into the sauce.

Ratatouille’s Ratatouille
As envisioned by Smitten Kitchen
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 cup tomato puree (such as Pomi) - could use the whole can of tomato sauce if adding beef. I also add some honey to offset the acidity of tomatoes.
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small eggplant (my store sells these “Italian Eggplant” that are less than half the size of regular ones; it worked perfectly)
1 smallish zucchini
1 smallish yellow squash
1 longish red bell pepper
Few sprigs fresh thyme  (I didn't have fresh thyme on hand so just liberally sprinkled some Italian seasoning on it)
Salt and pepper
Few tablespoons soft goat cheese, for serving


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Pour tomato puree into bottom of an oval baking dish, approximately 10 inches across the long way. Drop the sliced garlic cloves and chopped onion into the sauce, stir in one tablespoon of the olive oil and season the sauce generously with salt and pepper.

Trim the ends off the eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash. As carefully as you can, trim the ends off the red pepper and remove the core, leaving the edges intact, like a tube.

On a mandoline, adjustable-blade slicer or with a very sharp knife, cut the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and red pepper into very thin slices, approximately 1/16-inch thick.

Atop the tomato sauce, arrange slices of prepared vegetables concentrically from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a smidgen of each flat surface is visible, alternating vegetables. You may have a handful leftover that do not fit.

Drizzle the remaining tablespoon 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 over the dish.

Cover dish with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside. (Tricky, I know, but the hardest thing about this.)
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.

Serve with a dab of soft goat cheese on top, alone, or with some crusty French bread, atop polenta, couscous, or your choice of grain.

Eggplant Parmesan

This recipe is delicious but definitely a little more time consuming. Make sure you've read through the directions so you've given yourself enough time for prep work. To save time I used jarred spaghetti sauce (TJ's tomato basil) and salted the eggplant earlier in the day.

Source: Everyday Food

Prep: 45 minutes

Total: 2 hours

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 2 cans (28 ounces each) whole peeled tomatoes (I used 2 jars spaghetti sauce)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 large globe eggplants (about 2 pounds total), cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup plain dried breadcrumbs (I used Panko breadcrumbs)
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 pound whole fresh mozzarella, cut into large chunks (this totally makes the dish! yum!)

Directions

1. In a food processor, puree tomatoes; transfer to a medium saucepan and stir in olive oil. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until thickened, 30 minutes. Season tomato sauce with salt and pepper. (or gladly skip this step if you use jarred spaghetti sauce).
2. Meanwhile, in a colander, toss eggplant with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Let stand 30 minutes. Press slices between a double layer of paper towels to dry. Dredge eggplant in flour (shaking off excess), then dip in eggs (allowing excess to drip off), and sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet; set aside. In a large skillet, pour enough vegetable oil to come halfway up side. Heat oil over medium-high until pinch of breadcrumbs dropped in skillet sizzles. In batches, fry eggplant until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to rack to drain.
4. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Layer half the eggplant over sauce and sprinkle with cup Parmesan. Top with 1 1/2 cups sauce, then remaining eggplant. Finish with remaining sauce, cup Parmesan, and mozzarella. Bake until lightly browned and bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes.
5. To Freeze: Assemble dish but do not bake; wrap tightly with foil and freeze, up to 3 months. Thaw completely, then bake as directed.