Vincent Pennington Blog: Baked Ratatouille with Havarti Cheese

Monday, April 4, 2016

Baked Ratatouille with Havarti Cheese

Layers of eggplant, zucchini and squash are baked in a quick tomato sauce with bell peppers and herbs then topped with Havarti cheese. This is a great tasting meatless main dish.

True story, my favorite Disney movie of all time is Ratatouille. I’ve watched it hundreds of times with Madison and it never gets old. My version of the classic French dish is more like a casserole, similar to my Noodless Zucchini Lasagna, only without the ricotta and meat sauce.

I sliced the vegetables thin with my mandolin which speeds the prep time up, and grilled them on my grill pan to help dry out the vegetables so the end results won’t be watery which worked like a charm! This is especially great in the late summer, if you’re like me and have an over-abundance of veggies in my garden.

Print Recipe

Baked Ratatouille with Havarti Cheese

3 Smart Points 185 calories

Total Time: 1 hour

Layers of eggplant, zucchini and squash are baked in a tomato sauce with bell peppers and herbs then topped with Havarti cheese. This is a great tasting meatless main dish.

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, sliced 1/8th inch thick
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp olive oil
½ small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/8 tsp cracked black pepper
2 cups crushed tomatoes
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
4 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 small yellow bell pepper, diced
1 small (6 ounce) zucchini, sliced 1/8th inch thick
1 smalll (6 ounce) yellow squash, sliced 1/8th inch thick
3 oz light Havarti cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.
In a large non-stick skillet add olive oil and sauté onions and garlic 2-3 minutes. Add 1 tsp salt, black pepper, tomato sauce, red pepper flakes if using, bay leaf, thyme, basil, red and yellow bell pepper; sauté another 5-8 minutes on medium-low heat.
In a large nonstick grill pan, grill the zucchini and eggplant 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
Add 1 cup of the sauce to a casserole dish. Layer the eggplant, squash and the zucchini. Pour the remaining sauce over the top and top with the cheese. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes.