Ratatouille

There are SO many different recipes floating around out there for ratatouille, that’s it’s hard to decide which to follow…so I decided to follow my own! And it turned out to be absolutely DELISH (I love hearty casseroles this time of year, and since all the veggies are at their peak…I couldn’t resist)!! So, I’m sharing with y’all…I know that the traditional ingredients are tomatoes, onion, zucchini, garlic and eggplant…but what’s a recipe if you can’t play with it a little? Without further ado…

Brea’s Ratatouille

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, salted and cubed
1 large zucchini, sliced into disks (1/4-1/2 inch)
1 medium yellow squash, sliced into disks (1/4-1/2 inch)
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 onion, quartered and sliced thin
1 bell pepper, chopped
5-7 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large (16 oz) can diced tomatoes
Olive Oil (as much or as little as you like…I recommend at least 3-4 tbsp)
1-2 leaves dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp-tbsp cooking sherry

Method:

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and lightly oil an 8 1/2 x 11 baking dish. Add some olive oil, 1/3 of the garlic and all the chopped veggies, except the eggplant, zucchini and squash. Saute until lightly browned, then set aside. Add more olive oil, 1/3 of the garlic and the remaining veggies to the skillet and saute until lightly browned. Remove from heat. Deglaze the pan with the cooking sherry, saute the remaining garlic for 1-2 minutes, then add the tomatoes, and seasonings. Bring the sauce to bubbling and remove from heat. Now you’re ready to assemble: put down a layer of the tomato mix, followed by a layer of each of both vegetable mixes. Repeat. Put your masterpiece in the oven for 45 minutes, or until tender (pierce a few of the veggies with a fork). Serve hot, room temperature or cold (it’s delicious any way you want to have it!) accompanied by crusty bread and a big green salad!

Tagged as: diet, EAT THIS, Recipe, Vegan