Ratatouille tian with butternut mac and cheese

Cuisine French
Meals 2 (days 2 and 3)
Carb macaroni
Vegetable tian of zucchini, eggplant, butternut, tomato, and red pepper
Protein cheddar

Fresh

2 zucchini
1 Chinese eggplant
1 butternut squash
6 Roma tomatoes
1 red pepper
1 yellow onion
260 g cheddar

Pantry

200 g macaroni (Barilla Cut Macaroni)
100 g plain yogurt
3 tsp minced garlic
6 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp herbes de Provence or dried thyme
1 tsp Dijon mustard
nutmeg, salt, pepper

Steps

Day 2, base:

1 Set the oven to 375 °F.
2 Dice 1 onion, 1 red pepper, and 2 romas.
3 Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
4 Cook the onion and the pepper for 8 minutes, until soft.
5 Add 2 tsp minced garlic, the diced romas, and ½ tsp salt. Cook for 5 minutes.
6 Spread the base in the baking dish.
7 Cut the neck from the butternut. The neck is the long part with no seeds.
8 Peel the neck. Cut it in half along its length.
9 Cut 350 g of the neck into half-moons 2 mm thick. Use a mandoline if you have one.
10 Peel the bulb. Remove the seeds.
11 Cut the bulb and any remaining neck into 2 cm cubes.
12 Cut the 2 zucchini, the eggplant, and 4 romas into rounds 2–3 mm thick.
13 Stand the slices in rows on the base. Change the vegetable with each slice: zucchini, eggplant, squash, tomato. Overlap the slices.
14 Mix 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp herbes de Provence, 1 tsp minced garlic, ½ tsp salt, and pepper.
15 Brush the mixture on the slices.
16 Cover the dish with foil.
17 Bake the tian for 40 minutes.
18 Mix the squash cubes with 1 tbsp olive oil and salt on a baking sheet.
19 Roast the cubes on a second rack for 30–35 minutes, until soft.
20 Remove the foil from the tian. Bake for 20 minutes more, until the slices are soft and the edges are brown.
21 Weigh 300 g of the roasted cubes for the sauce. Keep the rest in the fridge for the hot dogs on day 4.
22 Boil 100 g macaroni in salted water. Keep 1 cup of the water. Drain the macaroni.
23 Grate 260 g cheddar.
24 Mash the 300 g squash with 150 ml pasta water until smooth. Use a stick blender if you have one.
25 Heat the squash in a pot over low heat.
26 Add 1 tsp Dijon mustard and a pinch of nutmeg.
27 Add the cheddar in 3 parts. Stir until each part melts.
28 Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in 100 g plain yogurt. Add salt and pepper.
29 Put half of the sauce in a container for day 3.
30 Mix the macaroni with the other half. Add pasta water if the sauce is thick.
31 Serve with half of the tian.
1 Heat the tian, covered, at 350 °F for 20 minutes.
2 Boil 100 g macaroni. Keep ½ cup of the water. Drain the macaroni.
3 Heat the sauce over low heat with 3–4 tbsp pasta water. Do not let it boil, because the yogurt splits.
4 Mix the macaroni with the sauce. Serve with the tian.

Day 2, squash:

Day 2, tian:

Day 2, mac and cheese:

Day 3:

Storage

Keep the tian in its dish, covered, in the fridge.
Keep the sauce and the extra squash in closed containers in the fridge.