Grateful Prayer | Thankful Heart

Ratatouille for French Inspired Birthday Lunch

By Lorraine

Kid-friendly ratatouille is a healthy combo of summer veggies. Easy recipe of sliced eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and fresh herbs arranged over tomato sauce and baked until tender.Trying to serve more vegetables that your family will actually enjoy? Try this kid-friendly ratatouille dish. It is a healthy combo of thinly sliced summer veggies and so easy to prepare. Call the kids into the kitchen and get cooking!
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Our grandkids love the computer-animated comedy film, Ratatouille, produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney. So after seeing me serve this dish for a friend-lunch, the kids wanted to make it themselves. It was a fun cooking activity during a recent sleepover and they not only enjoyed the ratatouille with the same name as the movie, but they also felt accomplished. 

 

Ratatouille is a healthy combo of summer veggies and kid-friendly. Easy recipe of sliced eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and fresh herbs arranged over tomato sauce and baked until tender.

French inspired

Ratatouille is a French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice, and sometimes referred to as ratatouille niçoise. With many methods of preparation, it is basically a recipe of sliced eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and fresh herbs arranged over tomato sauce and baked until tender.

Served to friends

Birthdays are fun, most of the time anyway. Celebrating birthdays with girlfriends is always fun. It is a chance to catch up and laugh about getting older, because laughing is better than complaining. Last week a few friends gathered to celebrate a birthday by having lunch together at my house. Ratatouille was part of a French-themed menu I planned and we pretended we were in Paris!

Food is often part of celebrations big or small. It is easy to have conversations while seated around a table together. More than just celebrating the birthday girl, we celebrate our friendship. We have shared many birthdays through the years and it is a special time filled with laughter, stories and up-dates about our children, grandkids and life in general. There is always encouragement, joy and gratefulness for each other with these sweet ladies!
 
Kid-friendly ratatouille is a healthy combo of summer veggies. Easy recipe of sliced eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and fresh herbs arranged over tomato sauce and baked until tender.
 
Here is the complete menu. It was really fun and worth the time. I think one of my love gifts is food and it brings me joy to cook for others. I imagine many of you feel the same way and prepare gift foods for others by making and sharing cookies, breads and treats, especially around the holidays.
 

How to make ratatouille 

 

Ratatouille is a healthy combo of summer veggies and kid-friendly. Easy recipe of sliced eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and fresh herbs arranged over tomato sauce and baked until tender.Two of our grandchildren came the day after our lunch for a sleepover and they tasted what was left of the Ratatouille. Was I surprised that they liked it and wanted to make more.

 

Kid-friendly ratatouille is a healthy combo of summer veggies. Easy recipe of sliced eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and fresh herbs arranged over tomato sauce and baked until tender.I made a few changes to the original recipe so we could compare and decide the version they liked best. Kids love to cook and were so excited to make the recipe themselves. 

 

Kid-friendly ratatouille is a healthy combo of summer veggies. Easy recipe of sliced eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and fresh herbs arranged over tomato sauce and baked until tender.Later that evening, we all curled up on the sofa to watch Disney’s Ratatouille movie and enjoyed the warmth of the first fire of the season in the wood burning stove. Ratatouille and popcorn makes a kid happy. Who would had thought.
 
 
 
 
Kid-friendly ratatouille is a healthy combo of summer veggies. Easy recipe of sliced eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and fresh herbs arranged over tomato sauce and baked until tender.The original recipe uses a can of tomato paste mixed with water and produces a thick, rich, bold tomato flavor with a deep color.  We tried substituting an 8-ounce can of tomato sauce for the tomato paste and did not add water.  We also tossed in a few thinly sliced mushrooms because I had some in the refrigerator that needed to be used.  As expected, it was more mild-flavored but still tasted good. After tasting both versions over and over, we finally concluded we liked the original recipe a just little bit better.
 
 
Kid-friendly ratatouille is a healthy combo of summer veggies. Easy recipe of sliced eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and fresh herbs arranged over tomato sauce and baked until tender.Whether you are planning a fancy lunch, need a delicious side dish or want to cook with your kids, give Ratatouille a try.
 

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 Ratatouille

Recipe Source: Allrecipes
PRINT RECIPE
4 servings
 
INGREDIENTS
  •  1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
  •  1/2 onion, chopped
  •  1/4 cup minced garlic
  •  1 tablespoon olive oil
  •  3/4 cup water
  •  salt and ground black pepper to taste
  •  1 small eggplant, trimmed and very thinly sliced
  •  1 zucchini, trimmed and very thinly sliced
  •  1 yellow squash, trimmed and very thinly sliced
  •  1 red bell pepper, cored and very thinly sliced
  •  1 yellow bell pepper, cored and very thinly sliced
  •  3 tablespoons olive oil, or to taste
  •  1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, or to taste
  •  3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
 
Spread tomato paste into the bottom of a 10 x 10-inch or 9 x 12-inch baking dish. (I use a deep dish round pie pan) Sprinkle with onion and garlic and stir in 1 tablespoon olive oil and water until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and black pepper.
 
Arrange alternating slices of eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper, starting at the outer edge of the dish and working concentrically towards the center. Overlap the slices a little to display the colors.
 
Drizzle the vegetables with 3 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle with thyme leaves. Cover vegetables with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside.
 
Bake in the preheated oven until vegetables are roasted and tender, about 45 minutes. if desired, serve with dollops of mascarpone cheese.
 
If you want to create a French Inspired Birthday Lunch, check out these recipes…

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Comments

  1. Tammy says

    How fun! I love that movie! And to have ratatouille while watching ratatouille is an excellent idea. The recipe sounds delish. Best wishes, Tammy

    Reply

  2. FABBY'S LIVING says

    I love this French salad and I will try yours, sounds great and looks it too!
    How wonderful you will have all your beautiful family for Thanksgiving…there's already a reason for thanks!
    Thank you for your sweet visit.
    FABBY

    Reply

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