(Cheaters) Ratatouille

I invented this recipe to use up a pile of fresh veggies in the 'fridge. It was an instant hit with most of the kids. Because, after all, tomato sauce is the vegetable equalizer.

I used part of a bottle of basic Italian marinara sauce to pull this traditional French dish together, but adding balsamic vinegar, thyme and sage makes it not taste like Italian at all.

I serve any leftovers on toasted bread for lunch the next day (pictured here)

 

A variety of vegetables. Traditional ratatouille includes onion, eggplant, green and red peppers, zucchini and yellow squash. But use what you like. Here I used:

1 red pepper, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

1 sweet onion, cut into chunks

1 8 oz. package of mushrooms, sliced

1/2 head of broccoli, cut into bite size piece

A handful of mini carrots

Sugar snap peas

3 T olive oil

1-2 T balsamic vinegar

Thyme and sage to taste

2 1/2 cups marinara sauce

1 cup Parm cheese (optional)

Salt to taste

 

Put all the vegetables into a zip loc bag and toss with oil and vinegar. Preheat oven to 500 F. and spread vegetables into a single layer on a baking pan. Sprinkle with sage and thyme. Roast for 5 minutes, stir, roast for another 5 minutes and remove from oven.

Turn oven down to 350 F. Mix vegetables with marinara sauce and cheese. Pour into a deep baking dish and bake until bubbly, about 45 minutes, stirring a few times during the baking.

Done