Ratatouille A La Remy

I can't sum-up in words how much I love the Ratatouille movie, ever since we saw it the first time (14 years ago). Even today any time it airs on TV, I will watch it. Actually, not just for love of movie but for the passion for food which I'm all about... and so was little Remy. I most recently learnt that it was renowned Chef Thomas Keller who actually created the recipe for the movie. The dish Ratatouille shown in the movie is not actually a traditional Ratatouille but a Confit byaldi.

When I started cooking, I could connect my food with flavours from my childhood. Amazingly, in the movie, that's how Anton Ego, the food critic, feels after taking first bite of Remy's ratatouille. Honestly, the theme of movie 'anyone can cook' always resonates with me. So true for me because I never thought I will cook and share my homemade food with the world.

RECIPE

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 60 minutes

Makes: 4-5

Ingredients

2 cups tomato sauce / puree

3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 eggplant, thinly sliced

2 tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 yellow squash, thinly sliced

1 zucchini, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, roughly chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

2-3 tbsp. vegetable oil

Thyme

Method

Preparing the sauce

Heat oil in a pan

Fry onion and garlic on medium heat for 2-3 minutes

Add yellow and red bell pepper and sauté for another 2-3 minutes

To this add tomato sauce and let it cook for 3-4 minutes on low heat

Add salt, pepper, thyme and give it a quick mix

Turn off the flame and let it cool down

Transfer the mix to a blender and blend into a nice sauce

Assembling the dish

• Preheat oven to 180˚C

• To a 9 inch round baking dish, add the sauce and spread it evenly

• Layer sliced vegetables on top, make a small stack in your hand and place it on the baking dish as shown in the video

• Cover it with parchment paper

• Bake for 45-50 minutes or until all the vegetables are done

• Plate it up and serve with bread.