A famous French classic re-invented by Thomas Keller for Disney's famous film 'Ratatouille'. Great fun to make and the flavours are incredible. Everyone must try and make this at least once! Recipe below...
INGREDIENTS:
Serves 4 (with extra sauce to serve)
4 roma tomatoes (2 for slicing and 2 for the sauce)
1 yellow courgette
1 green Courgette
1 aubergine (if you can get a Japanese aubergine, these are the best)
220g sweet mini peppers (yellow and red)
1 onion (roughly chopped)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Large sprig of thyme (stalks removed)
2 tbsp olive oil
METHOD:
1. Slice a cross in the top of each tomato, place into a pan of boiling water and blanch for 30 seconds. Remove immediately and place into ice cold water. Once cooled, peel off the skins.
2. To make the sauce, start by placing the sweet peppers into a roasting tray, season with some salt and coat in olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes at 200 C / 390 F until starting to blister. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Once cooled, remove the stalks and scrape out the seeds.
2. Heat some olive oil over a medium / high heat in a new pan and sauté the onions and garlic until translucent (5-10 minutes).
3. In a blender, add the sautéed onions and garlic, roasted peppers, 2 of the peeled tomatoes, thyme and some salt and pepper to taste. Turn the blender on and gradually stream in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Once incorporated, continue to blend until smooth.
4. Using a mandolin, cut the aubergine and courgettes into 2mm / 1/8 inch thick slices. Use a knife to cut the other 2 peeled tomatoes into 2mm slices as they are more delicate.
4. Cover the bottom of a circular pan in some of the sauce and then layer the slices of vegetables over the top, in the order 1) Aubergine 2 ) Tomato 3) Yellow courgette 3) Green courgette. Once layered, cover in a generous pinch of salt and a good glug of olive oil. Lightly cover with parchment paper and place in an oven of 160 C / 320 F for 40 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and cook for a further 10 minutes until ready to serve. This will leave the vegetables with a slight bite and helps hold the shape when plating up. If you would prefer softer vegetables, cook for an initial 1 hour instead of 40 minutes, followed by 10 minutes uncovered.
5. Serve with the extra sauce and a sprinkle of parsley. Enjoy!