Ratatouille Bake #BastilleDayRecipes

Today is Bastille Day, so my friend Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla is hosting a French themed recipe round up!

I generally think of French food as heavy comfort foods.  For me, comfort food = winter food. So, I wasn’t sure I’d find any recipe inspiration this time around. 

Then I remembered Ratatouille and the fact that my garden is doing very well this year!

If I understand correctly, Ratatouille is generally a stew-like vegetarian dish.  However, in the Disney movie, Ratatouille is reinvented as a pretty layered summer squash dish.

This is the pretty version of Ratatouille with a creamy tomato base.  It is super delicious and the perfect way to celebrate Bastille Day!

Enjoy these French-themed recipes!

• Camilla, Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Tarte Flambée
• Jolene, Jolene's Recipe Journal: Caramelized Baked Custards
• Karen, Karen's Kitchen Stories: Black Olive Fougasse
• Coleen, The Redhead Baker: Mini Butter Croissants
• Caroline, Caroline's Cooking: Lemon Madeleines
• Amy, Amy's Cooking Adventures: Ratatouille Bake

Ratatouille Bake

Inspired by Chef de Home

Sauce

2-3 large tomatoes, diced (about 3 cups)

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup loosely packed basil, chopped

3 sprigs oregano, minced

3 sprigs thyme, minced

1 small sprig rosemary, minced

1 cup milk

1 cup grated parmesan

Black pepper, to taste

1-2 small/medium zucchini, thinly sliced

1-2 small/medium yellow squash, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

Salt & pepper

Drizzle of olive oil

Place the tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Cook until vegetables are softened and any liquid is reduced.  Stir in herbs and cook for another minute.

Stir in milk and remove from heat.  Use an immersion blender (or food processor) to blend the sauce until smooth.  Stir in grated parmesan and black pepper.

Thinly slice the vegetables with a mandolin slicer to ensure evenness.

Pour the sauce into the bottom of a round casserole dish.  Make small stacks of vegetables, then place them on their sides in the casserole dish.  Keep adding vegetables until the dish is full.  If desired, add a zucchini rosette.

Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper.  Cover and bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour or until the vegetables are tender and sauce is bubbly.