The Gluten-Free Homemaker

A few years ago I tried ratatouille and simply loved it. This recipe is based on Bette Hagman's vegetable casserole in her book More from the Gluten-Free Gourmet. Many recipes call for cooking it on the stove. I like Bette's method of doing it in the oven. Either way, fresh vegetables, olive oil and herbs combine to make a delicious dish. It can be served alone or put on top of just about anything. It tastes good the first day, but it's even better if you let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. You can even make it a couple of days ahead of time and just reheat it when you're ready to serve.

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant, cubed
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 small zucchini, halved and sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz. diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 medium red pepper, chopped
1 Tb. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. olive oil
1/8 tsp. ground thyme

Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish. Mix well to coat the vegetables with the oil and herbs. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, stirring about every 1/2 hour. The vegetables cook down considerably so what looks like a large volume to begin with will look much smaller in the end.

Notes: You can try adding any vegetable you like such as carrots, yellow squash, or green pepper. Vary the amounts of vegetables to your taste. You can also substitute chopped fresh tomatoes for the canned ones. Most recipes call for fresh, but I dislike cutting fresh tomatoes.

The Bloggy Progressive Dinner continues today at The Finer Things in Life with main dish ideas. While ratatouille isn't a main dish, it can be a delicious part of the main course. Do you like ratatouille?

Labels: vegetables and side dishes