Greening Austin Daily

Recipe Review Tuesday: Ratatouille

28th June, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments

This was the first time I had eaten ratatouille, and I thought it turned out well enough that I would make it again. This recipe from epicurious was highly rated by reviewers and used up a lot of the vegetable from our CSA box, so that’s why I chose it.  It was pretty easy to make, I just had to cut up a lot of vegetables, but was able to work on other things while the veggies cooked. It’s an extremely healthy vegetarian meal, and the spices make the whole kitchen smell nice while it cooked.  I served it with some buttered bread and a nice glass of malbec. Delicious! Here it is:

Ingredients and directions

• 1 onion, sliced thin
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• a 3/4-pound eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
• 1 small zucchini, scrubbed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into thin slices
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 3/4 pound small ripe tomatoes, chopped coarse (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
• 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shredded fresh basil leaves

In a large skillet cook the onion and the garlic in 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and heat it over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking. Add the eggplant and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until the eggplant is softened. Stir in the zucchini and the bell pepper and cook the mixture over the moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cook the mixture, stirring occassionaly, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the oregano, the thyme, the coriander, the fennel seeds, the salt, and pepper to taste and cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the basil and combine the mixture well. The ratatouille may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated before serving.
Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Ratatouille-12164#ixzz1QabUFZa8