Ratatouille, Pixar-Style

We’ve watched the Pixar movie Ratatouille at least a dozen times, but had never worked up the courage to actually make the film’s signature dish.

Finally, after 190 recipe blog posts, my daughter and I decided to give it a try.

The hardest part is all the slicing of the vegetables. Other than that, it’s easy and fun to put together this healthy French dinner delicacy.

It’s also a good reminder not to assume that something is difficult without trying it. It might be easier than you think.

I had a professor at university who would always say, “Always assume a problem is easy unless it proves itself difficult.” 🙂

---

Ingredients

Sauce

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 8 fresh basil leaves ((or 1 tsp dry basil))
• salt and pepper to taste

Veggies

• 2 large zucchinis, sliced
• 3 tomatoes, sliced
• 6 small potatoes, sliced

Herbed oil

• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

---

Directions

Make the sauce to go under the layered vegetables
In a large pan that will be safe going into the oven (no plastic handles), heat the 2 tbsp olive oil over medium high heat, then add in the onion. Cook and stir occasionally until the onions are soft and a bit golden, about 5 minutes.

Add in the garlic and bell pepper, and cook for a few minutes more. Then add in the blended tomatoes and basil, and stir to combine.

Let it simmer gently for a few minutes, taste for salt and pepper, then remove from heat to cool a bit while you’re chopping up the vegetables.

Prepare the veggies and herbed oil
Thinly slice the zucchini, potatoes, and tomatoes, and put them in a large bowl.

Make the herbed oil by mixing together the 4 tbsp olive oil with the thyme, oregano, basil, garlic, salt and pepper in a small dish.

Assemble and bake
Arrange the vegetables in mini staggered stacks of 3: one slice zucchini, one slice potato, one slice tomato, and repeat. Start around the edge of the pan to make a circle, then make another inner circle inside the outer circle, and so on until all the tomato sauce is covered up tightly by stacked vegetables. (We added an extra slice of zucchini to each stack since we had leftovers.)

Once you’re happy with the layout, spoon the herbed oil evenly over the top of all the vegetables. (If you have a few extra chopped peppers left over from the sauce, you could add them on top as a garnish.)

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 375F for 40 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake for 20 more minutes. The veggies should all be nice and soft.

Cool for a few minutes and serve your ratatouille warm in bowls with fresh gluten-free bread or pasta. Bon appetit! ❤️