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.
1/2 cup flour (any kind is fine)
Place the flour, eggs and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Dip the eggplant slices in the flour, egg then bread crumbs. Heat the oil in a large pan. Cook the eggplant until golden brown and crisp. About 2 -3 minutes per side. Set aside on a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle eggplant with salt. 
