Traditional Ratatouille

Preheat oven to 400° F, take out casserole dish/roasting pan, and put pot on stove. Peel parsnip. Dice onions, peppers, and parsnip; crush the garlic. Put oil in pot on medium-high heat. Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes. Then, stir in the garlic, chile, and red peppers, frying for another 5 minutes. Finally, add the parsnip, and fry for 5 more minutes, or until done with preparing the veggies for batch two (next step). Before proceeding, remove veggies from pot and put into a bowl, leaving behind as much oil as possible.

Peel eggplant; dice eggplant + squashes. Add some oil to the left over oil from step 1, keeping it over medium-high heat. Toss in the squashes and eggplant, and fry for 5 minutes.

Return first batch of veggies to the pot, and keep cooking. Peel and dice the potato and tomatoes, and add to pot. Add the sugar, tomato paste, and plenty salt and pepper. Stir together, and pour in enough water to half-cover all the veggies. Cover with a lid, and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if needed before proceeding.

Using a slotted spoon, lift all the veggies from the pot and into your casserole dish/roasting pan, making a layer about 1 1/4 inches thick. Pour the liquid over the veggies, and bake for 30 minutes. All veggies should now be very soft, and most of the liquid should have evaporated. Garnish with cilantro and serve!