-Submitted by Frank from his blog; http://cookingfranco.blogspot.com
Just about everything in this dish is from the garden: Zucchini (and optional yellow squash), eggplant, peppers, peperoncini, tomatoes, garlic, (mushrooms optional), parsley, basil, salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil. No exact amounts here, depends what your garden gives you. The rest is all "quanto basta"
Dice up the veggies: you can use a combination of yellow and green squash and more or fewer green peppers and hot peppers. Use what your garden gives you. Mushrooms are a nice addition, but I didn't have any on hand this day.
 |
| Eggplant, zucchini, green pepper, hot pepper (peperoncini), onion, garlic,tomatoes, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, olive oil |
This was an extra large batch so I sauteed the garlic, onion and pepper first in about 1/4 cup of olive oil, then added only the eggplant.
Eggplant will soak up the oil like a sponge. But let it cook over high heat until it gets a bit tender,
I removed the eggplant, onion and peppers and added a little more oil to the skillet to make room for the squash
Then I added the zucchini, the tomatoes, the salt, parsley, basil and cooked everthing over high heat until the zucchini began to soften and the tomatoes cooked down some.
The tomatoes and zucchini release a lot of liquid. I wanted my ratatouille to be less soupy so I removed the veggies after they were cooked and let the tomato sauce cook down.
Then I returned the eggplant, pepper and onion and zucchini to the skillet
And let the whole thing cook a bit more.
Served alone with crusty bread and some Italian sausages or serve over pasta without meat for a great vegetarian dish; I'd like to try it with a can of beans mixed in instead of sausage as we are trying to eat less animal protein in our overall diet. My zucchini and eggplant is a bit chunky and not over cooked, you may like yours more cooked and with less of a bite. Buon Apetito!
Eggplant will soak up the oil like a sponge. But let it cook over high heat until it gets a bit tender,
I removed the eggplant, onion and peppers and added a little more oil to the skillet to make room for the squash
Then I added the zucchini, the tomatoes, the salt, parsley, basil and cooked everthing over high heat until the zucchini began to soften and the tomatoes cooked down some.
The tomatoes and zucchini release a lot of liquid. I wanted my ratatouille to be less soupy so I removed the veggies after they were cooked and let the tomato sauce cook down.
Then I returned the eggplant, pepper and onion and zucchini to the skillet
And let the whole thing cook a bit more.
Served alone with crusty bread and some Italian sausages or serve over pasta without meat for a great vegetarian dish; I'd like to try it with a can of beans mixed in instead of sausage as we are trying to eat less animal protein in our overall diet. My zucchini and eggplant is a bit chunky and not over cooked, you may like yours more cooked and with less of a bite. Buon Apetito!
