Ratatouille -A Delicious Vegetarian Dish

I'm really big on fresh vegetables and vegetarian dishes.  I'm not militant about vegetarian foods...I eat a lot of chicken, seafood, a bit of pork and the rarely selected red meat.   But, vegetarian is sort of just a preference by taste.

This is a nice vegetarian...call it a stew or casserole side dish you may enjoy.  While it carries a French name, the origin is a bit in question...may be French or Basque and carries a Mediterranean flavor.  It's quite tasty, as with most dishes created from fresh vegetables.  I hope you will enjoy trying it!

INGREDIENTS
1 Eggplant
2 Zucchini Squash
1 Large White Onion
2 Cups Fresh Mushrooms
1 Green Bell Pepper
2 Large Tomatoes
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese
3 Cloves Fresh Garlic
2 Teaspoons Dried Parsley
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoons Dried Oregano
1 Tablespoons Dried Basil
Salt to taste

PREPARATION
Cut Eggplant into 1/2 inch squares.  Slice the Zucchini into thin slices.  Slice the Onion into thin rings.  Slice the Mushrooms into thin slices.  Slice the Tomatoes.  Grate the Parmesan Cheese and finely mince the Garlic cloves.

TIP
Eggplant...and a reason many people don't like it...is that it has a somewhat "bitter" flavored dark colored juice.  Removing this juice greatly enhances the mild flavor of the eggplant.  You simply "sweat" the bitter juice out of the eggplant after cutting it.  I sprinkle coarse Kosher salt onto the meat of the eggplant, then put the bowl into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.  When you remove the eggplant from the refrigerator, you will see the brownish colored liquid in the bottom of the bowl.  "Pat" the eggplant dry, using paper towels, which will remove the excess Kosher salt and the bitter liquid still on the surface of the eggplant.  You're now ready to use the eggplant in any dish.

STEP ONE
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Coat the bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart oven safe glass casserole dish with 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil.

STEP TWO
Heat the remaining Olive Oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the minced Garlic and stir...cooking until the Garlic is beginning to brown.  Now, add the Parsley, Oregano, Basil and Eggplant cubes to the skillet and continue stirring and cooking for about 10 minutes, until the Eggplant is soft.  Now is the time to salt the Eggplant to your taste.

Begin by spreading  some of the Eggplant mixture evenly into the bottom of the casserole dish.  Sprinkle the layer of Eggplant with Parmesan Cheese.  Now, place a layer of Zucchini on top of the cheese, lightly salt and sprinkle more Parmesan Cheese.  Continue the layering process....Onions, Mushrooms, Bell Peppers and Tomatoes...lightly salting each layer and sprinkling with more Parmesan Cheese.

With all the layers in place, sprinkle the top with more Parmesan Cheese and place the casserole dish in the preheated oven to bake for about 45 minutes.

There you have it!  Out of the oven comes a delicious, cheesy, layered vegetable dish.

If you like fresh vegetable dishes on your dinner menu, I hope you will give this a try.

If you have questions, please feel free to email me at: stan.kain@gmail.com  Please consider subscribing to my Recipe Blog and receive updates and new recipes.  No advertising...this is just a personal recipe blog.  And feel free to share recipes you like with everyone!