Ratatouille's Ratatouille with Cannelinis

Ever since I saw Ratatouille last winter, I've been wanting to make it. I wasn't sure if it's a summer dish or a winter one, because it's made with summer vegetables, but is warm and hearty and almost stew like. Well, even though it was in the high 80's today, I went ahead and made it! I looked at quite a few recipes, and got a general idea of what to do, so I made up my own recipe, adding cannelini beans for some protein, and layered it for stage presence.

Ratatouille’s Ratatouille with Cannelini’s

1 can of diced tomatoes, slightly drained

3 cloves of garlic, shamshed into pieces

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/4 tsp. fennel seeds

Salt and Pepper

1 can of Cannelini beans, drained

1 thin eggplant

1 thin zucchini

1 thin yellow squash

1 red bell pepper

Salt and pepper

Fresh thyme, for garnish

Cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Gently mix tomatoes, garlic, thyme, fennel, salt, pepper, and beans in the bottom of a casserole dish.

Slice the squash, eggplant, zucchini and bell pepper very thin, or use a mandoline. Layer them on top of the tomato mixture.

Cover and place in the oven, bake for 45 minutes. If the dish looks too wet, remove the cover and bake for another 15 minutes uncovered. Do not let the vegetables get brown, they should just be softened. The tomato mixture should be bubbling up around the veggies.

Let it sit for a few minutes, then serve, topped with fresh thyme and cheese.