not as terrifying as it seems, with the help of a food processor
Without a mandolin, it may seem that ratatouille is impossible with hours of labor. But if you have a food processor, specifically one with a slicing attachment, you’re in luck! My food processor recently broke, so we got a new one with a fresh motor, and the slicing and shredding attachment. I never knew how handy a food processor could be! Next time I make potato gratin, I’ll be sure to use the slicing attachment of the food processor for paper-thin potato slices.
As I did more research, I realized how many food processing capabilities are unlocked with the additional attachment. With the slicing attachment, it’s even faster than a mandolin! The shredding attachment comes in handy when you need to shred carrots or other vegetables, but also for making pie crust. You’ll no longer have to cube your frozen butter — just use the food processor shredding attachment.
I am personally not a fan of bell peppers, so I didn’t really like the sauce in this dish. My favorite part was probably the eggplants. I’ll have to explore more French cooking, for me, it’s currently uncharted territory. However, I have seen many variations of ratatouille, like winter-root vegetable based ratatouilles and sweet, dessert ratatouilles. It might be worthwhile to try one of those recipes!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 diced onion
- 1 bell pepper, diced (red or orange)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 10 oz tomatoes
- 15 oz water
- 3 oz tomato paste
- basil, fresh or dried
- 1 eggplant
- 4 tomatoes
- 1 squash
- 1 zucchini
- assortment of herbs (basil, garlic, parsley, thyme)
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Directions:
- In a cast iron skillet, cook onions in some olive oil for 5 minutes, then add in bell peppers for an additional 2 minutes, until tender.
- Add salt and pepper, tomatoes, and basil. Bring to a simmer for 3 minutes.
- Transfer sauce into a blender and blend until smooth, or use an immersion blender. Transfer back into the skillet.
- Use a food processor with the slicing attachment to slice eggplant, squash, and zucchini.
- Slice tomatoes by hand.
- Arrange the sliced vegetables in sections in your hands, then put on top of the sauce in the skillet as desired.
- In a bowl, mix assorted herbs and olive oil. Drizzle on top of ratatouille.
- Bake at 375F covered for 40 minutes, uncovered for 20 minutes. Enjoy!
