Ratatouille: The First of Three

 Nick has been home for the summer since late May.  He is a meat eater, and is often less than enthused about the plant based meals I have been making.  But for years, one of our favorite summer go-to dinners has been a nice ratatouille.  I have several recipes, and this is the one I made last week, and the one I probably make the most often.  Here it is, as promised!

INGREDIENTS:

        2 tablespoons olive oil

·         2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

·         1 large onion, quartered and thinly sliced

·         1 small eggplant, cubed

·         2 green bell peppers, coarsely chopped

·         4 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped, or 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes (or a        combination of both fresh and canned)

·         3 to 4 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices

·         1 teaspoon dried leaf basil

·         1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano

·         1/4 teaspoon dried leaf thyme (or fresh if you have it)

·         2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (Or dried if you don't have fresh on hand)

Optional add-ins: A can of canellini beans, kidney beans, or chicpeas, rinsed and drained; some fresh cilantro; some steamed kale or spinach, chopped fresh basil, roasted red pepper... The possiblilites are endless!

Preparation:

In a 4-quart Dutch oven or saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add eggplant; stir until coated with oil. Add peppers; stir to combine. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep vegetables from sticking.

Add tomatoes, zucchini, and herbs; mix well. Cover and cook over low heat about 15 minutes, or until eggplant is tender but not too soft.

This is great served over a nice helping of brown rice!

Serves 4.

(Adapted from the recipe I found at  About.com, Southern Food)

Since I started using the Forks Over Knives meal planner I've been doing a lot of cooking without oil.  When I made this ratatouille last week I used red wine and vegetable broth to saute' my vegetables.  The ratatouille turned out great, but it didn't taste quite the same.  When I drizzled a teensy bit of extra virgin olive oil into my helping... OH MY. It was HEAVENLY.  

Today is Ray's birthday, and Matt came home.  For the last week we've been putting junk into the dumpster that we rented, and it's already full.  There isn't much room for the stuff I wanted to put in the thing between now and Friday, when it's getting picked up.  There will definitely be some trips to the dump in the near future. 

You should see some of the stuff I've found.  In fact, stay tuned.  I'll show you in a future post.

Have a great week!