Ratatouille

My kids have seen this movie twice, and just love it. So, when I saw this recipe at Smitten Kitchen, I had to try it. And who knows, maybe it will get the kids interested in vegetables, right?

I'm not very handy with a knife, don't own a knuckle skinner (mandoline), so I tried out the slicing attachment on my kitchenaid food processor. The pieces were thinner than I wanted.

Dd helped me arrange the vegetable slices (and this is a kid who NEVER wants to help in the kitchen). She even tasted a few of the raw vegetables, and gagged, but it's a start.

Before baking.

After baking.

The only change I made was to use herbes de provence instead of fresh thyme. I put the ratatouille on top of couscous and served it with some salmon fillets. It tasted great, although I think the amount of tomato puree was a little strong for the amount of vegetables we used, and that overpowered the taste of the veggies a bit. I think if our veggie slices were thicker, they would have stood up to the tomato sauce better.

I got the kids to taste it, neither of them liked it (dh didn't either but he eats like a kid too). The kids and I had fun with it, and exposure to fresh veggies can't hurt, right?