It’s safe to say the foodies around the world all remember the iconic movie Ratatouille, with its inspiring storyline and of course, the amazing food. Who doesn’t love roasted vegetables? This Mille-Feuille Ratatouille is loosely inspired by Michel Guérard’s Confit Byaldi, rich with country flavor and melts in your mouth!
The first secret to melt-in-your-mouth ratatouille is to use a cast-iron skillet.
Using a cast-iron skillet is great for several reasons. Firstly, it can go from stove to oven, which is extremely helpful at keeping dirty dishes to a minimum. Secondly, it distributes heat like no other pan on this planet. It gets HOT (like pizza stone hot) and is the perfect tool to get those coveted crunchy bits on top of the ratatouille.
Since we are a tiny bunch here at the Kitchen Division, I used a 6-inch mini cast iron skillet that I got off of Amazon (it’s amazing, if you were wondering). It also came pre-seasoned so I didn’t have to labor over cooking dozens of dishes to get a solid patina going.
My next secret is to salt the vegetables beforehand to draw out extra moisture.
Salting your vegetables will ensure that your ratatouille isn’t overly watery, and the vegetables will steam instead of roast. We want the Maillard Reaction to happen!
If there is too much water then the dish will never get hot and dry enough to begin browning, and the flavor won’t have that characteristic dark sweetness of something lovingly baked in the oven!
My trick is to sprinkle the vegetable slices with salt and then let them hang out on the counter for about 10 minutes to make sure plenty of water comes out. Then I give them a good squeeze before laying them into the skillet.
My last tip is to cut the vegetables really thin so that they cook faster and get super tender
If you’ve ever tasted broiled eggplant, you know how creamy and delicate it can be! By slicing the vegetables super thin, not only does it cut the cooking time down by half, but it also allows the veggies to “melt” into each other, creating the Mille-Feuille layers that we want!
If you are new to slicing veggies really thin, I would recommend to always, always start slow and take your time! Knife accidents in the kitchen are real and it’s always worth it to practice cutting with good form.
Another great knife tip is to make sure that the knife is sharpened! It may sound counterintuitive, but the sharper the knife, the safer it is! A sharp knife actually lowers the risk of slipping and creates consistency when slicing.
If you would rather save more time, a mandolin slicer is a great option to cut thin, uniform slices.
Mille-Feuille Ratatouille is so versatile! Here are some of my favorite ways to serve it
- With crusty bread
- On top of spaghetti
- With polenta and chopped thyme
My most favorite way to eat this? By topping it with a mountain of fluffy, micro planed parmesan cheese. Authentic? Not really. Unapologetically delicious? Absolutely. Try it out and let me know what you think!
INGREDIENTS
- zucchini
- yellow squash
- eggplant
- crushed tomatoes
- garlic roughly chopped
- olive oil
- sea salt
- red bell pepper seeded and roughly chopped
- yellow bell pepper seeded and roughly chopped
- yellow onion peeled and roughly chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Slice the zucchini, squash, and eggplant into thin rounds and add them to a large bowl. The slices should be thin enough to slightly see through them, about 1/8 inch.
- Sprinkle the sliced vegetables with the salt and toss with your hands to evenly coat them in the salt.
- Let the vegetables sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to draw out extra moisture from them.
- While the vegetables are sitting, heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion, bell peppers, and garlic. Sautee for 10 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add the crushed tomatoes and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the tomato mixture from heat and add to a blender. Blend until you get a smooth sauce.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce on to the bottom of the skillet.
- Squeeze out any extra moisture from the vegetables and layer the slices in the skillet, repeating between zucchini, squash, and eggplant. Spoon 4 tablespoons of sauce in between each layer of vegetables.
- After the layers are completed, top the ratatouille with a few spoonfuls of sauce, and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Bake the ratatouille uncovered for 25 minutes until bubbling and the top vegetables are wilted.
Mille-Feuille Ratatouille
Ingredients
- 2 zucchini
- 2 yellow squash
- 1/2 eggplant
- 1 can 14oz crushed tomatoes
- 4 large cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and roughly chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper seeded and roughly chopped
- 1 yellow onion peeled and roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Slice the zucchini, squash, and eggplant into thin rounds and add them to a large bowl. The slices should be thin enough to slightly see through them, about 1/8 inch.
- Sprinkle the sliced vegetables with the salt and toss with your hands to evenly coat them in the salt.
- Let the vegetables sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to draw out extra moisture from them.
- While the vegetables are sitting, heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion, bell peppers, and garlic. Sautee for 10 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add the crushed tomatoes and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the tomato mixture from heat and add to a blender. Blend until you get a smooth sauce.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce on to the bottom of the skillet.
- Squeeze out any extra moisture from the vegetables and layer the slices in the skillet, repeating between zucchini, squash, and eggplant. Spoon 4 tablespoons of sauce in between each layer of vegetables.
- After the layers are completed, top the ratatouille with a few spoonfuls of sauce, and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Bake the ratatouille uncovered for 25 minutes until bubbling and the top vegetables are wilted.
