Not the movie, the food. Even though we are slated to have a high of 75 F today it's a great day to make ratatouille. In part because I have a lot of running around to do and my crock pot makes it very easy to get dinner on the table in spite of that. The other reason is that eggplants were particularly beautiful at the grocery store yesterday so I bought one. Glossy, firm, no wrinkles, that's the way to pick a good eggplant.
Eggplants are related to the nightshade family (along with potatoes, tomatoes, and sweet peppers, so those who are sensitive to nightshades should avoid them) and are actually fruits because their seeds are on the inside. They have many wonderful health benefits including a fair amount of fiber (if eaten with the skin), lots of potassium and vitamin B1, also known as thiamin.
To be honest, in our house making ratatouille is an inexact science. The base ingredients are: eggplant, onion, tomatoes, sweet peppers, garlic, olive oil, pitted olives, basil, salt, pepper, and parsley.
How much of which ingredient depends on what we have available. I know that's not really helpful so here are the proportions I used today.
Ratatouille
Ingredients
- 1 medium size eggplant diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 zucchini cut into 1/2" rounds
- 2 peppers (one red one green) chopped medium
- 2 large tomatoes diced
- 1 t. dried basil
- 1 t. dried parsley
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Layer it all in the crockpot
- Pour a 14.5 ounce can of diced organic tomatoes over the batch
- Let it cook on low for 7-9 hours until it is done
Notes
I plan to serve this ladled over freshly made polenta with a generous shaving of fresh parmesan on top for a delicious, filling meal.
Polenta
Ingredients
- 1 C. fresh ground cornmeal
- 1 t. salt
- 3 C. water
Instructions
- Bring water and salt to a boil
- Reduce water to a simmer
- Very slowly add cornmeal (this is important to avoid lumps)
- Cook approximately 20 minutes until mixture thickens
- Remove from heat and pour into a pie plate (for triangles) or a cake pan (for squares)
- Let polenta set for 10-15 minutes
- Cut and serve
- Enjoy and be well.