Ratatouille

What I like so much about this dish is that each veggie retains its own shape and flavor. Too often I find ratatouille to be a combination resulting in mush. Enjoy hot or cold.

Ratatouille

This is not a quick dish to make, but the outcome is great!  It can be made the day before and actually improves with reheating.

1 lb eggplant

1 lb zucchini

1 tsp salt

4 TBS Olive Oil

½ lb (about 1 ½ cups) thinly sliced yellow onion

1 sliced yellow pepper

1 sliced green pepper

2 cloves garlic, diced fine

1 lb firm, ripe, red tomatoes, peeled, seeded and juiced

Salt and pepper

3 TBS minced parsley

Peel the eggplant and cut into lengthwise slices 3/8 inch thick, about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide. Scrub the zucchini, slice off the two ends and cut similarly to the eggplant. Place the veggies in a porcelain, glass or stainless steel bowl and toss with the salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Drain. Dry each slice with paper towels.

One layer at a time, sauté the eggplant and zucchini in hot olive oil until lightly brown; about 1 minute per side.  Set aside.

In the same skillet, cook the onions and peppers slowing in olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Stir in the garlic and season to taste.

Slice the tomato pulp into 3/8-inch strips. Lay them over the onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until tomatoes have begun to render their juice. Uncover, baste the tomatoes with the juices, raise the heat and boil for several minutes, until juice has almost entirely evaporated.

Place a third of the tomato mixture in the bottom of a Dutch oven and sprinkle over it 1 TBS of parsley.  Arrange half of the eggplant and zucchini on top, and then half of the remaining tomatoes and parsley. Put in the rest of the eggplant and zucchini, and finish with the remaining tomatoes and parsley.

Cover the casserole and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover and season if necessary.  Raise the heat slightly and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes more, basting several times, until juices have evaporated leaving a spoonful or two of flavored olive oil. Be careful not to burn the vegetables.

Set aside uncovered. Reheat slowly at serving time or serve cold.