This delicious version of the famous French vegetable dish, Ratatouille, takes advantage of the bounty of zucchini, eggplant, and peppers. Save room for seconds!
What you’ll need:
- 7 T olive oil, divided
- 3 – 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 c Roma or Plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped (approx. 5 large tomatoes)
- pinch of freshly ground sea salt
- 1/4 c fresh Italian parsley plus 1 T for topping, finely chopped
- 2 T fresh basil, chopped
- 2 c eggplant, cut into bite sized pieces (approx. 1 medium eggplant)
- 2 c zucchini, cut into bite sized pieces (approx. 1 medium zucchini)
- 2 c onions, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 c green pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 c Apollo’s Gift, shredded (approx. 8 oz.)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat 3 T of olive oil in a large fry pan on medium heat.
- Add the minced garlic and sauté 2 – 3 minutes until tender but not browned.
- Add the tomatoes, salt, 1/4 cup of parsley, and basil.
- Continue sautéing for 10 – 15 minutes until the tomatoes begin to break down and their juices begin to evaporate.
- Place the tomato mixture into a medium sized mixing bowl and set it aside.
- Using the same fry pan heat an additional 2 tablespoons of olive oil to medium-high.
- Add the eggplant and zucchini and sauté until lightly brown, about 5 – 10 minutes.
- Spread 1/2 of the tomato mixture on the bottom of a baking dish.
- Layer the eggplant and zucchini on top of the tomato mixture.
- Sprinkle with 1 cup of the shredded cheese.
- Heat the remaining 2 T of olive oil in the fry pan to medium-high.
- Add the onions and peppers, sautéing about 5 – 10 minutes until the vegetables are softened and lightly browned.
- Layer the onions and peppers on top of the casserole.
- Top the onions and peppers with the remaining tomato mixture.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the casserole and top with 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley.
- Bake for 30 – 35 minutes until the cheese is melted and the casserole is hot and bubbly.
