Remy’s Ratatouille

Preparing the ratatouille sauce -- 45 minutes

We couldn't find a squash, so we've used a Turkish zucchini for this recipe instead.

First of all, this is not really an official ratatouille. It is the ratatouille Remy made in the animation film, actually, this is called confit byaldi. But we thought it would be fun to recreate the dish from the movie. 

Slice the bell peppers in halves and remove the seeds. Place them cut side down on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, pepper and salt. 

Place the bell peppers in the oven for about 30 minutes at 230 degrees Celsius or 450 degrees Fahrenheit. When the outer skin starts to brown, remove it from the oven and let it cool off a bit.

Meanwhile, cut the onion and 3 of the garlic cloves, you gonna blend the sauce eventually so it doesn't really matter how you cut the onion and garlic.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onion and garlic cloves on medium-low heat. Be careful they do not brown. Add the canned tomatoes, bay leaves sprigs parsley and 3 sprigs of thyme.

Let it simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes. Peel the outer skin from the bell peppers and slice them into smaller pieces. Add the roasted bell peppers to the sauce and let it simmer for another 5 minutes.

Remove the bay leaves, parsley and thyme from the sauce. Blend until it's a smooth sauce and season with salt and pepper. Divide all of the sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. 

Cooking the ratatouille -- 75 minutes

The vegetable slices should be really thin, so it's best to use a mandoline or maybe a food processor with the right attachment. Slice the eggplant, both types of zucchini and tomatoes.

They should all have the same thickness. Finely cut the remaining garlic cloves and strip the thyme leaves from the stem. Add some olive oil and season with pepper and salt.

Place the veggies onto the sauce. Do not leave too much space between them and just keep on layering them in the same order. Divide the garlic and thyme oil over the veggies.

Cut a piece of parchment paper in the exact size of the baking dish and place it on top. Heat the oven again to 140 degrees Celsius or 280 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cook the ratatouille for about 1 hour, and check if the veggies are softened enough. If you would like some more colour, bake it some more without the parchment paper.

To re-create Remy's ratatouille presentation, stack them against each other. Add a little balsamic vinegar to the sauce to make it a little darker and less thick.

Carefully pour the sauce around and finish it all off with a thyme sprig or some chive. Enjoy your meal!