Granini's Ratatouille
A beautiful main dish for your vegetarian guests on Thanksgiving!
Ingredients:
Vegetarian spaghetti sauce*
Alfredo sauce*
1 zucchini
1 onion
1 eggplant
1 yellow squash
1 red pepper
2 or 3 large potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Parmesan Cheese
Directions:
Make a vegetarian spaghetti sauce. If you need a recipe, you can find my homemade tomato sauce recipe (using tomatoes from the garden) here, or you can see below, where I cheat. And no, I don't use jarred spaghetti sauce.
Make an Alfredo sauce. Yeah yeah, I know you're supposed to make a Bechamel sauce. However, I thought that tasted really bland, and I like my Alfredo sauce, so I made that instead, and it was a hit. I put a quick version of my recipe below.
Using a mandoline (because oh my it makes everything SO much easier than thinly slicing everything by hand), slice up the vegetables into similar widths.
I parboiled the potatoes in boiling hot salted water for about 4 minutes or so, just to take the edge off. It helps.
Then, assemble!
Spray your baking dish with olive oil. Line the bottom with a heavy layer of spaghetti sauce. Then pour over a nice thick layer of Alfredo sauce. Then, in a circular pattern, place your vegetables around the rim of the bowl, alternating vegetables as you go. Continue all the way around until you make it to the center. Drizzle olive oil over the entire thing. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle parmesan cheese across the top.
Bake at 350º for about 35 minutes or so. I usually pop it in the oven the same time I pop in my cornbread dressing.
Bake until bubbly and slightly brown on top.
Enjoy!
It is truly a beautiful, and delicious dish for your vegetarian guests.
The only challenging part is making sure your vegetarian guests have a chance to serve themselves before everyone else tries digs in and gobbles the rest of it up.
For those of you who like pictures, here you go!
Alfredo sauce*
1 zucchini
1 onion
1 eggplant
1 yellow squash
1 red pepper
2 or 3 large potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Parmesan Cheese
Directions:
Make a vegetarian spaghetti sauce. If you need a recipe, you can find my homemade tomato sauce recipe (using tomatoes from the garden) here, or you can see below, where I cheat. And no, I don't use jarred spaghetti sauce.
Make an Alfredo sauce. Yeah yeah, I know you're supposed to make a Bechamel sauce. However, I thought that tasted really bland, and I like my Alfredo sauce, so I made that instead, and it was a hit. I put a quick version of my recipe below.
Using a mandoline (because oh my it makes everything SO much easier than thinly slicing everything by hand), slice up the vegetables into similar widths.
I parboiled the potatoes in boiling hot salted water for about 4 minutes or so, just to take the edge off. It helps.
Then, assemble!
Spray your baking dish with olive oil. Line the bottom with a heavy layer of spaghetti sauce. Then pour over a nice thick layer of Alfredo sauce. Then, in a circular pattern, place your vegetables around the rim of the bowl, alternating vegetables as you go. Continue all the way around until you make it to the center. Drizzle olive oil over the entire thing. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle parmesan cheese across the top.
Bake at 350º for about 35 minutes or so. I usually pop it in the oven the same time I pop in my cornbread dressing.
Bake until bubbly and slightly brown on top.
Enjoy!
It is truly a beautiful, and delicious dish for your vegetarian guests.
The only challenging part is making sure your vegetarian guests have a chance to serve themselves before everyone else tries digs in and gobbles the rest of it up.
For those of you who like pictures, here you go!
Enjoy!
1 can (28 oz) Hunt's tomato sauce
1 can (10 oz) Hunt's tomato purée
1 can (10 oz) Hunt's tomato paste
1 onion, large, diced
1 zucchini, medium, diced
1/2 an eggplant, skinned (I just slice the purple part off), diced (optional)
6 mushrooms, diced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and squished in garlic press
2 Tablespoons olive oil
bay leaf
2 Tablespoons oregano
2 Tablespoons basil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
In a large pot, pour in olive oil and garlic and simmer over medium heat for 3 or 4 minutes.
Add in each of the veggies and stir frequently. Sauté until veggies are soft and fragrant. Pour in tomato sauce and stir. Allow the sauce to simmer for 1/2 an hour. Add in spices and turn heat down to simmer for another 10 minutes.
(optional:) Ladle the sauce into a blender in small batches, and pour the smooth sauce into a large bowl. Continue to blend and pour until all the sauce has been blended completely.
Taste sauce and add salt & pepper as needed. Enjoy!
I make my sauce ahead of time and either freeze it, or can it in wee single serving sized jars so that my kiddo can make wee little English Muffin pizzas for snack time. Or I can have a single serving dish of spaghetti for a quick and easy dinner when I'm on my own. If you're making Ratatouille for Thanksgiving, feel free to make your spaghetti sauce on Monday or Tuesday, put it in a sealed container, and let it just sit in the fridge until Thursday. Then when it comes time to make your ratatouille, all you need to do is prep your veggies, make a quick Alfredo, and pop that sucker in the oven.
If you're in a huge hurry, I suppose you could buy jarred spaghetti sauce (gasp!!), but don't you dare buy jarred Alfredo. That's just not okay.
Granini's Alfredo Sauce
3 Tablespoons salted butter
3 Tablespoons flour
1 clove minced garlic
2 to 3 Tablespoons (no more than 1/4 cup) white wine (optional)*
1 to 2 cups of milk or 1/2 and 1/2
salt and pepper
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup grated sharp (or extra sharp) white cheddar cheese
In a large surface pan, melt the butter on low heat. Add in the garlic, and allow it to cook for just a minute or so. Add in the flour, and cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Do not allow to turn brown. At this point, you may add in the white wine, if you care for that sort of thing. It is absolutely optional. Slowly add in one to two cups of milk or 1/2 and 1/2. You want the sauce to be on the thinner side, but not too thin. I prefer to err on the side of too thick, but that's just me. Turn the heat up to medium, and allow the sauce to simmer and thicken. Add in salt and pepper, the parmesan, and the grated white sharp cheddar cheese. Stir. Taste. Add a wee bit more salt if necessary. Lick the spoon. Wash the spoon. Dip it back in there and taste it again, just for good measure. Lick the spoon again. mmmm.
Find other tasty Thanksgiving Dinner dishes here:
And tasty pie recipes here:
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I not only bake and cook, I write murder mysteries too!
Diamonds for Diamond
(Book 1 in the Jack Diamond Mystery series)
and
No One Noticed
(Book 2 in the Jack Diamond Mystery Series)
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