My Lazy Easy Ratatouille
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Disney Movies & Ratatouille
One of my children’s favorite Disney movies growing up was Ratatouille. It helped that I liked the movie also, because they watched it a bazillion times. So it got me thinking…
I love all the flavors of a traditional Ratatouille, but I can’t be bothered with the amount of time it takes to thinly slice and layer all the vegetables. Then to roast the ratatouille for more than an hour seems like an eternity.
I came up with a way to get all the flavor of a traditional ratatouille, but in a fraction of the time. From stove top to table in a snap my Easy Ratatouille is a great family meal.
My secret to lasting weight loss
Maintaining my weight loss, and quite frankly staying healthy, has always been the main driver for this website. Making meals like these Easy Ratatouille is really my trick. Sorry, it’s that simple for me…I meal prep and almost always cook at home.
I wrote a few articles about this and will write more, but I want everyone to know that cooking at home is one of my major keys to success. Every meal does not have to be epic, but when I am prepared I have a much better chance at success.
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Adding Protein
When I started thinking about how I could make this Easy Ratatouille into a hearty meal I wanted to add some protein. This meal had to be easy so I didn’t want to go through the effort of adding chicken.
I had seen a recipe for Shakshuka that had eggs baked on top. This is an Middle Eastern dish that’s been said to be the most perfect meal any time of the day. While I do not have a recipe yet for my own Shakshuka, I decided to marry the idea of ratatouille with shakshuka…and came up with Easy Ratatouille.
Two steps in cooking
The chopping of the vegetable is really the only hard part of Easy Ratatouille. It’s chop, chop, chop and then sauté for 15-20 minutes on the stovetop. While you are sauteing the vegetables your oven will be preheating.
Be sure to added your seasoning to the vegetables. The recipe calls for salt, pepper and oregano. Feel free to adjust the seasonings to your taste.
Marinara
You certainly can make your own marinara sauce to add to this Easy Ratatouille. At this point in my life I have no time for that, however I always have the option of my trusted store bought brand, Rao’s.
While tomatoes have carbs, this marinara sauce uses only pure ingredients and has one of the lowest carb counts. This brand also happens to have the best taste in my opinion.
Once your vegetables have softened the marinara sauce is added and everything will just simmer for a few minutes stove top.
The Last step
By this time your oven has heated up to 375*-400*. I sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the entire top of your Easy Ratatouille. I don’t use a lot of cheese, but the smallest amount of parmesan adds a little saltiness and big flavor to your dish.
Using the back of a large spoon (see picture for spoon example) I make small wells in the simmering vegetables for my eggs. I crack an egg into each of the wells on top of the vegetables. Don’t worry if the eggs are not perfectly separated.
Transfer to the oven CAREFULLY
Open your oven and make sure your oven racks are situated closer to the top of the oven. VERY CAREFULLY and with two hands transfer your skillet to the top rack of the oven.
Bake your Easy Ratatouille at 375* for about 10 minutes. Oven times and desired doneness will vary on your eggs. You can certain turn your oven to broil to speed up the process…BUT don’t walk away. You must watch your eggs if you turn your oven to broil.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 zucchini small size, medium dice
- 3 yellow squash small size, medium dice
- 1 onion medium dice
- 2 red bell pepper medium dice
- 1 eggplant medium size, small dice
- 3 cloves garlic pressed and mashed
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp oregano
- 24 oz marinara sauce Rao’s brand
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- 8 eggs
- 2 tbsp parsley fine chop, optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375*
- Place a large cast iron skillet or oven safe frying pan on the stovetop with about 3 tbsp over medium to high heat. Add all the diced vegetables and stir to cook. There will be a lot of vegetables so you may want to do this in stages as the vegetables cook down you can add more to the pan.
- Intermittently stir vegetables to soften until the zucchini and eggplant are weeping and the onion is soft for about 10-15 minutes. Stir in 24 oz of low carb marinara like Rao’s brand. Turn heat up to fully simmer all vegetables and sauce for about 3 minutes. Then turn heat off.
- Make 6 wells in the vegetable mix …each big enough to hold an egg. Don’t worry if your eggs touch each other. Carefully transfer your skillet to your preheated oven for 15 minutes, maybe more or less depending on how done you like your eggs.
- Remove skillet from oven and serve.
Nutrition
MEDICAL AND NUTRITION DISCLAIMER…Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nutritional break downs are done using a commercial nutrition calculator. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctorbefore starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers, this should never be construed as medical advice.