Tart Ratatouille with warm goat's cheese

Ratatouille is a great and really nourishing side dish. It goes with almost all types of meats and fantastic to get your kids to eat the extra portion of vegies. Serving this on a base like a pizza will get all the kids wanting more!

The idea to serve ratatouille with goat's cheese came to me after having vacationed along the Loire river with my mum. They served warm goats cheese with salads and all types of other dishes.

The first time I combined ratatouille and goats cheese was back in the days when I first met Tom. I had served this with some baguette and he was stuck on to me! In Germany there is a saying "Liebe geht durch den Magen" which basically means love goes through the stomach.

As it is his birth day today I decided to try out a different variant of the same idea!

Besides the Tart Ratatouille, I also served a gorgeous Mousse au Chocolat!

As it is Tuesday, I decided this would be perfect to send over to Cate for the ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday round up.



Ingredients:

2 Garlic cloves - crushed
1 red onion - chopped coarsely
1 zucchini - chopped coarsely
1 aubergine - chopped coarsely
1 yellow bell pepper - chopped coarsely
3 large tomatoes - chopped coarsely (you can also substitute with a small can of tomatoes)
white balsamic vinegar
rosemary leaves - dried or fresh
thyme - dried or fresh
extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Goats cheese

If you are wondering where the ingredients for the dough are - I was sneaky and bought a pre-prepared dough rolled out from the grocery store. You all know by now how I hate dough preparing, plus the fact that I work, I had to find a quick and easy option.




Method:

Pre-heat oven to 200°C.

Add a good shot of olive oil to a pan and heat. Throw in the onion chunks, garlic and all the other vegetables except for the tomatoes.

Let the vegetables cook on a low heat until they become soft, about 5 minutes. However, they should still be crunchy. Now add the tomatoes, herbs and a drizzle of the balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.

Spread this mixture on the tart base and break the goats cheese over the mixture. Drizzle a little more olive oil and place in the oven until dough is baked. Mine took approx. 20 minutes.

My advice: I have tried ratatouille with different types of cheeses - mozzarella and feta. However, the goats cheese really tastes the best with these type of vegetables. The taste of the goat's cheese complements the herby taste of the vegetables, which was lost with the mozzarella and was a tad too salty with the feta. But try out your favorite types of cheeses and let me know how it tastes.



Verdict: Folks, I have to get this over to Cate at Sweetnicks so I owe you all the verdict later this evening. You'll have to check back anyway for the Mousse au Chocolat. Later!
So here it is the verdict:
If I had started all that "tart ratatouille with warm goats cheese" with Soeri he would have probably looked at me with a "HUH?" look on his face. So, I told him "PIZZA!!" and he ate with relish! Tom, of course got the real deal! He loved it. As a matter of fact he even remembered that I had served this up to get him hooked ;-) He really liked the idea to serve this on a type of pizza base instead of serving it with baguette.
I think this one is going to be a keeper from now on!

Vaishali of Happy Burp also tried this recipe out. Check out her verdict!
Continue »

4 comments:

  1. Well I really hope you enjoy it! Let me know how it turns out ok? Maybe I can link to your post to get your verdict in too!

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  2. Hi Meeta,
    Yet again you have come up with a my kinda dish. This one is so very my type. I must try it out and let you know about it. I really wish I were there when you made this one. Mmmmmm...rosemary and thyme. Oh, I can't wait now.

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  3. I knew you would like this one. Yes the delicate fragrance of the herbs was really delectable. Do let me know how it turns out!

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  4. if *aubergine* is an egg plant ... i would substitue a yellow summer squash ... not an egg plant lover. my version of ratatouli is similar: saute few minutes until tender 2 sliced carrots, one large diced onion, one chopped (red, yellow or orange) pepper (preferably roasted w/o skin) and chopped 3-4 cloves garlic in a bit of olive oil and then set aside. now in large pan saute zuccini & squash in a bit of olive oil until tender but firm (about 8-10minutes); add 1 can diced tomatoes cover and simmer 5 minutes; now add carrot mixture to pot and season with salt & pepper to taste and simmer few more minutes. variation: toss in (sauted separately) one large white potatoe, cubed, last few minutes of simmer. delish as main dish too! :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting What's For Lunch, Honey? and taking time to browse through my recipes, listen to my ramblings and enjoy my photographs. I appreciate all your comments, feedback and input. I will answer your questions to my best knowledge and respond to your comments as soon as possible.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy your stay here and that I was able to make this an experience for your senses.

Hugs
Meeta