Turkish Ratatouille
This classic Ratatouille of thin sliced eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes are dressed in a Turkish spiced tomato sauce and tangy goat cheese--the perfect light summer accompaniment to your late July dinner.
Equipment
- Food processor with slicing blade, optional
Ingredients
For the Vegetables
- 1 large eggplant, thin sliced
- 2 zucchini, thin sliced
- 3 tomatoes, thin sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 - 4 oz package of goat cheese, crumbled
- salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- pinch sumac
- pinch paprika
For the Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ bell pepper or hot pepper if desired
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- pinch sumac
Instructions
For the Sauce
- In the olive oil, saute the chopped onion, pepper, and garlic over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add in the tomato paste and seasoning.
- Once combined, raise the heat and add in the tomato sauce. Allow to boil and low heat to simmer for ten minutes, while you prepare the vegetables.
For the Vegetables
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a food processor or by hand with a very sharp knife, thin slice the eggplant, zucchini, and tomato.
- In a 9 inch glass pie dish or similar, drizzle some olive oil and begin to layer the eggplant, zucchini, and tomato around the whole dish. If needed, use two rounds of zucchini per layer since it is usually smaller than the eggplant and tomato slices. If needed, slice the larger eggplant slices in half to fit the dish. You can prop up something like a cup measure against the start of the vegetable wall to hold it up while you build.
- Keep building inner rounds and, in the very center, fill in any space with the same layers.
- Drizzle a little olive oil, salt and pepper onto the vegetables. Take small crumbles of goat cheese and press it all around the ratatouille, into any open spaces between vegetables.
- Spoon half of the sauce evenly over the vegetables. Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Then, add in the rest of the tomato sauce, cover again in foil, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until soft and bubbling.
- Remove foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes before eating. Enjoy the South of France by way of Turkey!
