Recipe – Ratatouille – super easy

So after my wife and I watched the movie Ratatouille at least once a day for six months – thanks to Chilli, I really was intrigued in knowing what this European dish is.

After researching and some experimenting on my own behalf, here is the recipe I came up with and as a side note, if you have young kids – it is really fun for them to be a part of the preparation and cut up the veges – easy to slip some in their mouth as they are cutting and they are usually (not always) interested in something they created.

Ingredients (and this will feed a family of four with enough for tomorrows lunch)

Any and all squash/pumpkins you can find
Last night I used,

Butternut Pumpkin
Acorn Pumpkin
Summer Squash (or patty pan squash)
zucchini
Yellow Squash
Green Squash
Yams or sweet potatoes – these are so good in it.

a couple of large tomatoes
a couple of large Onions
baby carrot – don’t cut these
full garlic
1 leak
can of tomato paste
basil
grape seed or olive oil

(split peas if you want to use these)

Salt or if Brags Amino Acids if you prefer to cut the salt which is what I used.

Slice all veges into a about a 1/8 to a ¼ inch thick.
In a big casserole dish a threw about a hand full or more of split peas on the bottom as I know there will be lot of liquid in this dish and they will help keep the flavor – this is an option, then start alternatively stacking all veges vertically and place the baby carrots and leaks in all the crevasses that are left.
Chop up the garlic and put it over the top, along with the basil and maybe some more of the split peas along with a good splash of oil (grape or olive).
Spread over the tomato paste and sometimes I add about a ¼ of a cup or less of chicken stock to kick things off.
Put the lid on the dish then place in an oven at 350 °F for about an hour and a half – there is no issue on a little longer or less, it just depends on how you want your veges, I like mine real soft so the flavours go thru out……..
Serve in a bowl and if you want to kick it up, put some hot sauce on it – I use an olive oil that I have a bunch of chilies soaking in it!