Ratatouille
1 large eggplant
1 yellow onion 1 red onion 2 yellow squash 2 zucchini 1 small package of fresh mushrooms 2 bell peppers, any color 4 cloves of garlic 2 cans of diced tomatoes or the equal in fresh Roma tomatoes 1 bay leaf 1 tsp thyme, dried or 4 to 5 fresh sprigs Basil to taste olive oil butter - real and unsalted kosher salt pepper |
This recipe is time consuming because there's a lot of chopping and so forth but once that's done, it just simmers on the stove till it suits you. It fed a family of three (one is a teenager!) for 2 meals. It costs less than $10.00 for the whole pot!
I peel my eggplant but it's not necessary. Cut into cubes and sprinkle with salt then put it in a bowl all by itself. We'll get back to it. I chop and cook at the same time but you can do all the chopping then all the cooking if you'd prefer. This is the order I do it in out of preference: I chop the onions. Put olive oil in a deep dutch oven type of pot and heat it up till it's warm over a medium/medium high heat. A little salt and pepper on the onions and saute them until they're soft and just starting to brown. This takes about 10 minutes so chop the peppers up. Add them to the onions and cook another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, keep slicing the squash, zucchini, mushrooms, and garlic. Transfer the onions and peppers to a big bowl. Add a little butter and a little more olive oil then add another vegetable. Keep cooking in batches. I cook each vegetable individually. No reason. It's just the way I do it. Remove each batch and add to that big bowl. A brown glaze will form on the bottom of your pot while you're doing all this cooking. I let it go until I get to the garlic which I saved for last. I deglaze the pan with a little red wine then add the garlic. When it begins to turn gold I add the bay leaf, thyme if it's fresh and basil if it's fresh. I stir that for just a minute or two then I add the tomatoes. If you're using dried seasoning then add it with the tomatoes. If you opted for fresh tomatoes, you'll need to add more red wine or chicken broth or water. Just a bit. Let that simmer for a few minutes then dump that big bowl of vegetables in there. Stir it up. Put the lid on and turn the fire down low. Let it simmer, stirring occasionally, until you just can't resist it anymore. Great with thick, crusty bread and/or pasta! |