Ratatouille Made Easy

Contributed by Dawn Marie Hamilton

Traditional Ratatouille recipes call for the vegetables to be sautéed then baked as a casserole. This easy recipe skips the sauté step, adds the flavor of baby bella mushrooms and uses tomato sauce instead of whole tomatoes.

As with many of my favorite dishes, this colorful recipe doesn't require exact measurements.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant (1.5 pounds), ends trimmed, unpeeled, diced
2 zucchini (1 pound total), unpeeled, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
6-8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, stems trimmed, quartered
5-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup roasted garlic pasta sauce
6 large cloves garlic, halved (optional—add garlic if using plain marinara sauce)
pepper

1. Toss vegetables in large bowl with olive oil and season with pepper to taste.

2. Arrange on two parchment-lined baking sheets in single layer.

3. Place on center racks in 350 degree preheated oven and roast for thirty minutes. Switch pan positions and roast for additional thirty minutes. (total baking time: 1 hour)

4. Heat pasta sauce and mix with roasted vegetables in a large bowl.

Serve over rice or pasta as a meatless main dish or as a side dish with your favorite meat. We like it as a side for chicken. Serves 4 as main dish with rice.

* Can be made a day in advance and reheated with meal.