“Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere."
With this movie I could've gone in a few directions with an inspired food post – tomato soup anyone – but at the end of the day why not go with the title dish itself, right? Mine's not a full blown ratatouille but I did go with similar ingredients and a ton of fresh herbs from my garden. Enjoy !!
INGREDIENTS
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 cups thinly sliced leeks, white and pale-green parts only, rinsed well (1 large leek)
- 1 Yukon Gold potato (8 ounces), sliced 1/4 inch thick
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 small eggplant, trimmed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1 large zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 3 large beefsteak tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- Fresh grated parm to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, divided, plus more for garnish
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves, divided, plus more for garnish
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil in a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Layer with half the potato and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Top with a layer each of half the eggplant, half the zucchini, and half the tomatoes; season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Scatter with half the thyme and basil. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil. Repeat layering and seasoning with remaining vegetables. Drizzle with remaining oil, top with grated parm, and cover loosely with foil.
- Bake 20 minutes, then remove foil. Press vegetables down with a spatula, and bake until potato is tender and edges are well caramelized, about 45 minutes more. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing. Garnish with remaining herbs.