Ratatouille Sandwich
August 9th, 2025
This Recipe creates 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 02 hours
A single serving contains about 500 calories
Ratatouille, originating from Nice, France, (sometimes called "Ratatouille Niçoise") is a French Provençal dish made with stewed vegetables, typically including eggplant. In the movie by the same name, we were introduced to a recipe called Confit Biyaldi, that is more of a casserole than a stew. This recipe, turns Ratatouille into a sandwich, with the addition of bacon, Black Forest Ham, and sliced sharp cheese such as Gruyere, Manchego, or Smoked Gouda. The most time consuming part of this recipe, is roasting all the vegetables. As a result, I often make a larger batch of roasted vegetables to keep on hand. The vegetables can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 weeks.
Ingredients:
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12 ounce Package Sliced Bacon, thick cut
2 Medium Eggplants
Table Salt (to taste)
4 Large Zucchinis
2 Red Bell Pepper
Ajvar Roasted Red Pepper Spread
8 ounce Black Forest Ham, sliced
8 ounce Sliced Gruyere
4 Store-bought or Homemade Hoagie Rolls
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Directions:
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Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin from the Eggplant.
Trim off the stem and the calyx.
Cut the Eggplant as thinly as possible, into 1/8 inch thick planks.
Preheat the oven to 400° F.
Cover a large sheetpan with parchment paper.
Arrange the Eggplant Planks on the parchment paper.
Drizzle a small amount of Olive Oil across the Eggplant Planks.
Use your hands to spread the Olive Oil across both sides of the Eggplant Planks.
Lightly Salt each side of each Eggplant Plank.
Roast the Eggplant Planks for 20 minutes, until the Eggplant slices are toasted.
Carefully remove the Eggplant from the parchment paper and reserve for later.
Meanwhile, clean the Zucchini and trim off the stems.
Cut each Zucchini into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick planks, lengthwise.
Drizzle a small amount of Olive Oil across the Zucchini Planks.
Bake the Zucchini Planks for 30 minutes.
Use a spatula to turn over each Zucchini Plank.
Roast the Zucchini Planks for another 30 minutes.
Remove the Zucchini from the parchment paper and reserve for later.
Clean the Red Bell Peppers.
Cut the Bell Pepper in half, lengthwise. Remove the stem, seeds and pith.
Set the Red Bell Pepper on the parchment paper, skin side down.
Roast the Bell Pepper halves for 30 minutes.
Cool the roasted vegetables.
Fry the Bacon slices until they are crispy, but still somewhat pliable.
Reserve the Bacon for later.
Slice open each Hoagie Roll.
Arrange them on a large sheetpan.
Spray or brush each Hoagie Roll with a thin layer of Olive Oil.
Broil for a few minutes, (at least 12 inches away from the Broiler) until each bun is lightly toasted.
Do not burn.
After the rolls have finished toasting, spread a liberal amount of Ajvar Roasted Red Pepper Spread on each roll.
Build the Sandwich
Add 2 or 3 Eggplant Planks to the Bottom Hoagie Roll.
Cover with 2 Zucchini Planks, ensuring that the Zucchini covers all the way to the edges.
Place half of a Red Bell Pepper on the Zucchini.
Add 2 slices of Bacon, laying next to each other.
Add 2 slices of Black Forest Ham, folded lengthwise.
Add 2 slices of Gruyere Cheese.
Slice the sandwich in half.
Serve with a pickle Spear and a side of French Fries or a Green Side-Salad.
