Catherine’s Ratatouille

I have a confession. I’ve never liked eggplant. Not even a little. Until I tasted this Ratatouille recipe from my dear friend, Catherine Evans. I’m a humble convert now. I LOVE Ratatouille! I even think that, gulp, I actually like eggplant!

Here’s Catherine’s recipe.

Ratatouille

• 2 T. olive oil
• 8-9 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled, cubed, and salted
• 3 – 4 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cubed
• 2 – 3 red and/or green peppers
• 3 -4 ripe tomatoes, diced (or 1 large can of diced tomatoes)
• 1/4 c. chopped parsley
• 1 c. quartered mushrooms (optional)
• 2 t. oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• mozzarella, optional

Start by placing the cubed eggplant in a colander and sprinkling it with about 2 t. salt. Set the colander aside while the salt pulls excess water out of the eggplant. After 30 minutes, rinse the eggplant briefly and pat it dry.

Heat the olive oil in a large deep skillet. Add the minced garlic and chopped onion. Cook until lightly brown. Add eggplant and cook until the eggplant starts to get soft.

Remove the eggplant mixture to a bowl.

Add a little more oil to the pan if needed. Heat the pan and add zucchini. Stir and cook zucchini until it’s translucent.

Add chopped tomatoes, parley, and oregano; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add eggplant mixture. Cook until almost all the juice has thickened.

(Catherine tells me that, when adding oregano, Italian cooks rub the leaves between their hands to release the oils and aroma of the oregano.)

Add salt and pepper to taste.

For a more substantial dish, mix in 1 ½ c. diced mozarella (1/2″ cubes). lace mixture in an ovenproof dish and heat at 350° until cheese is melted.

As I’ve been learning about Ratatouille, I’ve learned that there are about as many variations on this recipe as there are French grandmothers. I have a few more ratatouille recipes to try before I can decide which is my favorite…if I MUST decide!

Many thanks to Catherine for this first foray into the brand new world of eggplant!

By the way, last summer Laura had a similar revelation about eggplant and Ratatouille and wrote about it here. And yes, there does seem to be a family theme on the topic of eggplant!

Barb