Baked ratatouille (confit byaldi)
Servings: 3 servings
Ingredients
for the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons frying oil
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons French seasoning Herbes de Provence
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 (14 oz/400ml) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
vegetables:
- 3 medium tomatoes
- 1 small/medium zucchini
- 1 small/medium yellow squash
- 1 small eggplant
- 3 medium potatoes
- salt and pepper to taste
additionally:
- 1 ½ cups (150g) shredded Gruyere cheese or other melting cheese
Instructions
Make the sauce:
- Chop the onion and bell paprika, cut the garlic very finely.
- Heat the oil in a big frying pan over medium heat, add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes until soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic and herbs, cook for 1 more minute.
- Add the bell pepper, cook, stirring from time to time, for about 3 minutes, until softened.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, stir and cook the sauce for about 10-15 minutes over low/medium heat (add some boiling water if the sauce is too dry). Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for 10 seconds.
- Puree the sauce with a blender, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Assemble the casserole:
- While the sauce is cooking, prepare the vegetables: Peel the potatoes and tomatoes. Cut the zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and eggplant into thin, about 1/4 inch (5mm) slices, cut the potatoes a little thinner (you can use a sharp knife or a mandoline). Make sure you slice the potatoes more thinly than the rest of the vegetables.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C / Gas Mark 7, no fan.
- Spoon the sauce into the baking dish, even out its surface. Note: if you're using a rectangular 9x13 inch (23cmx33cm) casserole dish use the whole amount of the sauce, if you're using an oval 9x13 inch (23cmx33cm) casserole dish, add a little less sauce - about 1/2-2/3 cup less sauce (you can use it for another recipe or bake it with the leftover vegetables that won't fit in your baking dish).
- Arrange the vegetables in the baking dish in an alternating layered pattern from the outer edge to the inside until the entire baking dish is filled.
- Sprinkle salt, pepper, and some more Herbes de Provence over the vegetables. Pour a small amount of olive oil over them.
- Bake for 45 minutes (uncovered) until the sauce is bubbly and the vegetables are browned (if the vegetables are not browned you can turn on the fan or move the baking dish under the most upper rack / under the broiler and bake briefly until the edges of the vegetables are browned).
- Sprinkle grated cheese over the vegetables and bake until the cheese is melted and slightly golden (on the top shelf for 5-10 minutes or under the broiler for about 1-2 minutes - be careful not to burn it).
- Take the casserole out of the oven and leave to rest for about 15 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- What to do with leftover vegetable slices? If you're using an oval casserole dish, it's very possible that you'll have some vegetables left. I usually take about 1/2 cup of sauce from the big casserole dish (it won't look like much sauce at the beginning, but remember that the vegetables release lots of water so there will be lots of liquid at the end) and add it to a smaller baking dish, along with the leftover vegetable slices. If you don't have any sauce left, but you have the vegetable slices, you can bake the vegetables alone, with or without the cheese. Just season them well with salt, pepper, Herbes the Provence, and olive oil. Bake the same way as the other dish.
- Gruyere cheese - this is a Swiss semi-hard cheese that has a very pronounced flavor and melts well. It tastes amazing in this dish but if you can't find it you can use other kinds of melting cheese, like gouda, Swiss cheese, or low-moisture mozzarella.
- You can omit any vegetables that you don't like and just add more of the other vegetables.
- Servings: This recipe yields 3 servings if you serve it as a vegetarian main dish or up to 6 servings if you will serve it as a side dish.
- What to serve it with? Chicken breast, roasted duck, or really any kind of meat would go well with this vegetable side dish.
- How to store this? Can it be reheated? This vegetable casserole can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat it in a 320°F/160°C oven until warm.
- How to freeze it: This casserole can be easily frozen. Freeze it for up to 6 months. You can thaw it directly in the oven. Bake the frozen casserole in the oven preheated to 320°F/160°C until thawed and warm.
- Calories = 1/3 of the recipe. This is only an estimate!
Nutrition
Calories: 580kcal