Ratatouille

I decided to embrace my French heritage and prepare the dish Ratatouille. This is a comfort dish and in a time like this we can all use a little bit of comfort right now. I added extra cheese because as you might know I am a HUGE cheese gal. I hope when you recreate this dish you will find the same comfort and peace that I did while tasting it! 

Ingredients: 
- 4 large tomatoes      - 2 medium eggplant
- 2 yellow zucchini     - 2 green squash

Sauce:
- 1 large sweet onion diced            - 1 tsp of pepper
- 1 large red bell pepper diced       - 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp minced garlic                     - 1 1/2 crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil                               - 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp paprika                                   - 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3/4 cup heavy cream

Topping:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups of Parmesan cheese  

Instructions:
1. Preheat a large frying pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Once heated add diced pepper and onion. Saute the mixture for 4-5 minutes then add in the garlic.
2. Season the mixture with pepper, paprika and salt. Then add crushed tomatoes, sugar and balsamic vinegar. Cook the sauce over medium heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Then stir in the cream and once fully combined remove from heat.
3. Preheat the oven to 375`F. Then prepare the vegetables. Cut all of the vegetables the same thickness about 1/8th of an inch. Create small stacks of the vegetables alternating the 4 kinds. The small stacks will help for assembly.
4. Spread 3/4 of the sauce into the bottom of a large oval casserole dish. Arrange the vegetable stacks in a ring around the edge and packing them tightly. Spoon the remaining sauce in between the vegetables and around the edges of the casserole dish.  
5. Next comes the topping. Use a pastry brush to gently brush the olive oil over the vegetables.
6. Cover the dish with tin foil and place into the oven. Bake for 50 minutes then remove the tin foil and add the Parmesan cheese and put it back into the oven for 10 minutes uncovered.
​7. Allow the dish to cool for 15-20 minutes before serving, enjoy!