Herby ratatouille has become a bit of a thing around here lately.  It’s so simple to put together, cooks itself and packs a flavourful punch that you’ll love. It’s ideal to cook when you’ve already got something cooking like roast meats or bread or anything really!

Not only is this a great side, it can also be a meal on it’s own: either add it to couscous, bake it again in a makeshift tart with goats cheese (like this one with caramelised onions), stir it through pasta, or add some sugo, and bake it again with cheese and breadcrumbs to make a gratin.

I’ve always made a version of ratatouille, mainly for the purpose of putting under a goats cheese stuffed, prosciutto wrapped chicken breast  (which is really scrummy and will be on the blog soon).  But the interesting thing is that the kids like this.  Miss 4 ate a fair bit and said it tasted really sweet. Which is a bonus, because normally veggies need to be plain for her to like them.

Now: thinking outside the box for this one: before we made ratatouille, we looked at our woolworths dominoes and found the rat! Don’t forget there’s also a movie.  I find that things like that can be key convincers in getting a kidlet to try something new.  We chopped the zucchini and eggplant together and Miss 4 helped with spreading the basil and sprinkling the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. All of these things helped ratatoiulle to be eaten at dinner.