Spicy Smoky Ratatouille Casserole
User Reviews
5
21 reviews
Excellent
-
Prep Time
1 hr
-
Cook Time
3 hrs 30 mins
-
Total Time
4 hrs 30 mins
-
Servings
10 servings
-
Calories
134 kcal
-
Course
Main Course
-
Cuisine
Middle Eastern
Spicy Smoky Ratatouille Casserole
Report
Spicy Smoky Ratatouille Casserole is a layered vegetable dish featuring a rich tomato and roasted pepper sauce base with thinly sliced zucchini, eggplant, yellow squash, and Roma tomatoes arranged on top. The vegetables are infused with smoked paprika, cayenne, garlic, and herbs like basil and thyme, creating a complex, smoky, and spicy vegetable medley baked to tender perfection.
Description
This recipe involves roasting various peppers until charred and steaming them to loosen skins before chopping and combining with minced carrots, celery, onion, crushed garlic, and fresh basil. Tomatoes form the sauce base alongside seasonings including smoked paprika, sweet paprika, cayenne pepper for heat, salt, and oregano. This sauce simmers to concentrate flavors.
The topping consists of thinly sliced seasonal vegetables layered neatly over the sauce and dressed with olive oil, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper. Baking melds the components into a harmonious casserole where the smoky, spicy sauce complements the tender, roasted vegetable slices.
The dish pairs well with rustic bread to soak up its juices and can be enhanced with grated Parmesan if dairy is acceptable. Proper preparation of the vegetables and roasting the peppers over a gas flame are key steps to achieve the intended flavor and texture.
Share:
Ingredients
Sauce Ingredients
- 2 pounds tomato roughly chopped, vine-ripened
- 1/2 pound button mushrooms (sliced)
- 2 carrot minced
- 2 ribs celery (minced)
- 1 onion (minced)
- 1 yellow bell pepper (roasted and chopped, skin, seeds and stem removed)
- 1 red bell pepper (roasted and roughly chopped, skin, seeds and stem removed)
- 1 Anaheim pepper roasted and roughly chopped, skin, seeds and stem removed, or poblano pepper
- 1 chile pepper (roasted and roughly chopped, skin, seeds and stem removed)
- 8 basil minced, leaves
- 1/4 cup olive oil (divided)
- 2 teaspoons garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika (also known as sweet paprika)
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper if spice sensitive use 1/4 tsp
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
Sliced Vegetable Topping Ingredients
- 4 Roma tomato approx 10 oz, sliced very thin
- 8 ounces zucchini (sliced very thin, about 2)
- 5 ounces Japanese eggplant (sliced very thin, about 2)
- 5 ounces yellow squash (sliced very thin, about 2)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic crushed
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 teaspoon thyme chopped, fresh
- 2 teaspoons basil fresh, chopped
Instructions
- It's important to have your vegetables chopped, sliced and fully prepared before you begin. There are a few different ways to roast the peppers -click here for options. With this dish I usually throw them directly on the burner of my gas stove and let them cook until the skin chars and blisters. With tongs, carefully turn the peppers so that they roast evenly on all sides. The peppers are done roasting when they are soft and starting to collapse.
- Transfer the roasted peppers to a large mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the peppers to steam for 15 minutes. You can also steam them in a paper bag if you prefer.
- While the peppers are steaming, prepare and chop the rest of your ingredients. The Roma tomatoes, zucchini, Japanese eggplant and yellow squash should be sliced very thin, about 1/16 in thickness. This is best done with a sharp serrated knife or a mandoline. It does take a bit of time, but the result is totally worth it.
- Once your peppers have finished steaming, peel off the skin and remove the seeds and ribs under cool running water. Roughly chop the peeled peppers and set aside.
- In a food processor, combine the chopped vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped peppers, basil, 2 tsp crushed garlic, salt, smoked paprika, cayenne, paprika and oregano and pulse until you have a rough puree with texture. Taste the mixture; add additional spices and salt to taste, if desired. Note that the flavors will develop more during cooking-- don't overdo the spice, you'll taste it more when the dish is completely cooked.
- Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a sauteuse pan or heavy bottomed skillet over medium high until hot. Spread out the sliced mushrooms in a single layer in the pan. Let them stand without stirring for 2 minutes until they are golden brown on the bottom. Begin stirring the mushrooms; continue stirring for another 2-3 minutes till they are nicely browned throughout. Remove mushrooms from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the remaining 2 tbsp of the olive oil to the pan and sauté the minced onions, carrots and celery, scraping up any brown bits as you stir. Cook until the largest pieces of carrot and celery are soft and the onions are caramelized.
- Add the mushrooms back to the pan along with the tomato mixture and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Start to layer on the sliced vegetables by first overlapping them in a circle around the outer edge. Layer them close to each other; don't worry, you should have plenty of veggies to cover the whole surface.
- Continue the same pattern until all of the sliced vegetables have been used. If you have extra vegetables you may want to double the layer in the center circle.
- In a small bowl, combine 2 tbsp of olive oil with 1 tsp crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Mix well and drizzle over the top of the sliced vegetables. Sprinkle the top lightly with salt and pepper, then sprinkle the fresh thyme over the top of the dish.
- Cover the pan with a lid or a layer of parchment paper. Bake for 90 minutes. Remove the the lid or parchment and increase the heat to 350 degrees F. Cook for an additional 45 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil. Serve hot over cauliflower couscous, mashed potatoes or your favorite starch.
- This dish takes a long time to prep, but the good news is you can prepare pretty much the whole thing up to 2 days in advance. Slice the vegetables (a mandolin will speed up this process) and place them into plastic zipper bags. Roast the peppers and make the tomato-pepper sauce, then place in a sealed Tupperware. Mix the olive oil and garlic mixture and chop any herbs for garnish. Refrigerate all of the ingredients. That way, all you'll need to do is assemble and cook on the day you serve. You may want to extend the baking time at 300 degrees by 10-15 minutes if the sauce is cold when it goes into the oven. I don't recommend freezing this dish, as the vegetables will become very mushy when reheated.
Notes
- Roast peppers directly on a gas burner for best charring and flavor, rotating with tongs for even cooking.
- After roasting, steam peppers under plastic wrap or in a paper bag for about 15 minutes to loosen skins for easy peeling.
- Slicing vegetables very thinly, about 1/16 inch, is recommended and can be done safely with a serrated knife or mandoline.
- For non-vegan variations, adding grated Parmesan before or after baking adds a complementary cheesy note.
- Serve with rustic breads like challah or brioche to soak up flavorful juices, particularly when not restricted by dietary preferences.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
134kcal
(7%)
Carbohydrates
13g
(4%)
Protein
3g
(6%)
Fat
8g
(12%)
Saturated Fat
1g
(5%)
Sodium
259mg
(11%)
Potassium
647mg
(14%)
Fiber
3g
(12%)
Sugar
7g
(14%)
Vitamin A
3780IU
(76%)
Vitamin C
78mg
(87%)
Calcium
31mg
(3%)
Iron
1mg
(6%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 10servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 134 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 134kcal | 7% |
| Carbohydrates | 13g | 4% |
| Protein | 3g | 6% |
| Fat | 8g | 12% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Sodium | 259mg | 11% |
| Potassium | 647mg | 14% |
| Fiber | 3g | 12% |
| Sugar | 7g | 14% |
| Vitamin A | 3780IU | 76% |
| Vitamin C | 78mg | 87% |
| Calcium | 31mg | 3% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
21 reviews
Excellent
Other Recipes
You'll Also Love
