RATATOUILLE + R̶I̶C̶O̶T̶T̶A̶ BOURSIN BAKED PASTA — Simply Julia, p.28
I lit on this recipe because I had Boursin to make use of (every so often I can’t resist the three-pack for $9.99 at Costco), and it would make a good upgrade from ricotta. Not that this is a revolutionary idea — either roasted ratatouille, or combining this vegetables with pasta. This is more ratatouille-inspired than actual, since it is a bunch of chopped roasted vegetables, rather than having the stewy consistency of ratatouille.
This calls for the usual suspects (zucchini, eggplant, sweet bell pepper, cherry tomatoes), but for some reason no alliums. Huh? I added a red onion, though I didn’t bother with garlic because the Boursin takes care of that. I basically halved the recipe, though I just guesstimated rather than weighing (including the pasta, which was about two-thirds of a 13 oz box of De Cecco whole wheat fusilli). For seasoning, she calls for dried oregano and optional fennel seeds. I was out of oregano, so subbed thyme and did use the fennel seeds. I generally followed her prep, down to using two sheet pans, though mine were quarter sheets. I deviated when it came to baking the assembled dish. Turshen spreads it all on one of the pans used for roasting the vegetables, in the interest of more crispy bits and fewer dishes, but I decided I’d just as soon be able to pop the things with the creamy dairy, etc. in the dishwasher, so since my pasta pot was too small for everything anyway, I threw the vegetables into a Pyrex bowl as I chopped and tossed them with the oil and seasonings, then used the same bowl to combine everything before baking in a Pyrex pan.
This wasn’t revelatory, but it made for a very tasty dinner. Nothing I really needed a recipe for, but useful inspiration. I think it would be a little underwhelming as written, with just ricotta and parmesan and no onion or garlic or fresh herbs or other seasoning beyond what she calls for, though.
