Ratatouille Grilled Cheese

Do you guys feel what’s going on? It’s becoming darker earlier and chilly later now. Even here in Beijing, I can almost taste the apple cider and picture the pumpkin patches. In other words, the end of summer means that my favorite season is just around the corner, and I can start breaking out the flannel and scarves with this Ratatouille Grilled Cheese recipe.

But summer, my arch-foe, deserves its annual reprieve with its scorching streets, smoky Beijing skyline, and grimy taxi seats. Or one last chance, depending on your point of view.

We can fondly remember the heat of a Beijing summer by making a Ratatouille Grilled Cheese sandwich with a trove of the last summer’s tomatoes, squash, and eggplant.

This may be the best use of the French peasant stew ratatouille we’ve seen on this blog.

On the other hand, we won’t be playing favorites. Making a large quantity would allow you to use it in all three dishes. That’s a pretty good farewell, wouldn’t you say?

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 slices of Italian bread
• 6 oz. of cream cheese (chop into ½ inch cubes)
• 5 sun-dried tomatoes (minced)
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• 3 cups of cherry tomatoes
• 2 cups of each of diced zucchini, eggplant, and onion
• 1 1/3 cup of grated Gruyère cheese
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 2 tablespoons of minced fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons of minced fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons of dried Italian herb seasoning
• 1 teaspoon of Balsamic vinegar
• salt and fresh black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Make sure your oven is at 400 degrees. The zucchini, eggplant, onion, and cherry tomatoes should be mixed with 1/4 cup olive oil, minced garlic, tomato paste, dried herbs, minced sun-dried tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Mix everything together thoroughly using your hands. Use a baking sheet and line it with nonstick foil or parchment paper. Vegetables should be spread out evenly over the pan.
2. Toss the vegetables halfway through roasting and return to the oven for another 40 minutes. Put the contents in a basin and put it aside for later. The ingredients for this roasted ratatouille mixture can be prepared in advance.
3. Mix the parsley, basil, balsamic vinegar, and an extra tablespoon of olive oil in a small bowl. Mix the finished ratatouille with the cream cheese cubes.
4. Spread butter on both sides of each bread slice. Each slice should be browned briefly in a big skillet. Flip the bread and spread the ratatouille cream cheese mixture on four of the slices. Spread the fresh herb mixture (a couple of teaspoons’ worth) on the remaining four slices.
5. One-third of a cup of grated cheese and the herbed bread will finish off the ratatouille halves. Melt the cheese and lightly toast the bread in a grill pan for a delicious sandwich.