Ratatouille Pasta

This is a re-do of my old Ratatouille pasta post back in October of 2008. Since then, I have changed up a few things such as photos, cooking technique, and substitutions. However, my original recipe takes place back in 2001 with my first time using Eggplant. A Belgian lady I worked for bought an eggplant and asked me if I could incorporate it into a meal for her children. Even though I had never even cut into one, I graciously accepted it and started to work. After cutting it open, I thought about mixing similar vegetables, adding some fresh herbs, and serving it over pasta. I think it worked out pretty good as the children enjoyed it (or they didn't know the difference). Since then, I decided to improve on it and soon learned of a similar dish called Ratatouille. To that effect, I named this dish after it. This is actually a perfect recipe that incorporates almost all of the ingredients in an Italian Pack from Bountiful Basket!

 Ingredients:
Pasta- Penne or Bowtie, cooked
 1 eggplant
1-2 yellow squash
1-2 zucchini squash
 1/2 sweet onion, cut in wedges
2-3 small Tomatoes
1 Bell pepper
Aged Cheese
Salt and Pepper as desired

Herb Paste:
Olive or Grape Seed Oil - About 1/4 cup
Balsamic Vinegar- About 1/4 cup
Juice from 1/2 to to 1 whole lemon
2-3 cloves of Garlic, chopped
2 sprigs of Italian Parsley
2 sprigs of Oregano
3-4 leaves of basil

Directions for herb paste- Blend all ingredients together until paste-like texture.

Directions:
Cut all vegetables spread out onto a baking sheet. Pour all herb paste into pan and mix with vegetables.

 

Broil in oven for 10-20 minutes or until roasted (desired doness)

 Serve over pasta and sprinkle with cheese and a little bit of fresh herbs.

Options and Substitutions:

• Mix and match bell pepper colors
• Use any pasta that would go well with vegetables
• You can us a zip bag to mix all the vegetables and herb paste together
• Even though this is a meatless meal, it goes well with chicken, Italian sausage, or steak. 
• To make gluten-free, this dish can be served over rice pasta, rice itself, or served alone.

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