When September rolls around each year – and it always does too soon – it means a few things to me. Summer is almost over. It's my birthday. I must take advantage of these last sunny, warm, blue-skied days. And, tragically, my garden will soon be no more. Those tomatoes and that zucchini and all the baby eggplants... gone. I've got maybe 2 more small harvests to enjoy before summer comes to an end.
This was only our second year gardening and it was much more successful than the first. We grew 8 tomato plants from seed, along with 3 pepper plants, chard, greens, and marigolds. It wasn't a big garden, but it treated us to tomatoes that tasted like candy, greens spicy enough to make your eyes water, and more jalapeños than we knew what to do with. Not too shabby, if you ask this novice gardener. ;)
Try as I might, I can't keep fall from happening. In all of it's pumpkin-loving, leaf-falling, sweater-wearing glory, it will be here soon. But for now, I'll just cling to my favorite season. Early summer lazily calls for grilled corn and the creative use of peaches and berries. Late summer sneaks up on you with a heaping pile of tomatoes and squash, demanding that you make ratatouille. I'm ok with that.
Ratatouille is one of my favorite meals. It has a way of waving goodbye to summer while clinging to some of its very best parts. It is impossibly simple to make, it is full of bright flavors, and it uses up the last of the season's last fresh produce.
We've shared a recipe for ratatouille before and I love that recipe. But I also love this recipe because it simplifies the process and allows for single servings. Sure, making your own sauce is traditional and fancy and impressive. But it's ok to use sauce from a jar, too. Especially if that means you find yourself in a lawn chair with a glass of white wine and an individual serving of ratatouille.
If you enjoyed this ratatouille recipe then let us know how you get on in the comments!
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5 Ingredient Ratatouille
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This simpler, but just as flavorful take on a classic French dish makes good use of summer's last vegetables.
Ingredients
- 2 roma tomatoes
- 1 zucchini
- 1 yellow squash
- 6 baby eggplants
- 1 ⅓ cups marinara sauce (from jar)
- olive oil spray
- sea salt
- black pepper
- fresh basil (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º.
- Lightly spray or grease ramekins with olive oil. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (to prevent messes while baking.)
- Using a mandolin or a sharp knife, slice off the ends of the eggplant, zucchini, squash, and tomatoes. Thinly slice them into ⅛-inch rounds.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of marinara into the bottom of each ramekin.
- Make a layer of eggplant, a layer of zucchini, a layer of squash, and a layer of tomatoes. For the last layer, use whatever remains. Sprinkle salt and pepper over top of each ramekin, then evenly divide the remaining marinara sauce equally and spoon over top.
- Place ramekins onto baking sheet and cook for 40 minutes.
- Remove and allow to cool, then garnish with fresh basil if desired.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: main dish
Nutrition
- Calories: 181
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 989 mg
- Fat: 2 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 3 g
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