Ratatouille (Zuchini and eggplants in tomato sauce)

Hello everyone,

Some people figure that because France is not a Muslim country, most of its food would be pork based; that is not true. While it is true there are quite a few traditional French dishes using pork, there are many more that are in fact safe to eat if you are Muslim and even some vegetarian meals. While I am rather a meat lover, I try to eat vegetarian for my diners, it's good both for my health, the planet and for my wallet. However the problem I am always facing is: "I want to eat vegetarian but veggies aren't really my favorite kind of food." so I am always trying to find new ways to cook vegetables.

Ratatouille is not an invention of mine but it is a dish that I rarely ate in my life and without going as far as saying I regret it, it is a nice way to eat vegetables and people don't think enough about it. I sure know that when my kid will be of age to eat solid food I am going to try this recipe on her.

	Preparation: 10 mn	Cooking: 30 mn	Total time: 40 mn
	Difficulty: Easy	Caloric intake: about  200 Kcal per portion	Price: Very cheap

A traditional dish from the south of France that can either be a nice accompaniment or being eaten as a meal on its own.

Ingredients:

For 2-3 people
1 eggplant

2 zucchini (I replaced them by eggplants since I couldn't find any zucchini where I live)
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
4 tomatoes
1 teaspoon thyme (or 2 fresh thyme branches if you have)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
4 tablespoons oil
salt
pepper
water

Preparation:

Step 2

1. Cube your eggplant and zucchinis. Chop your onion and garlic cloves.


2. In a deep pan or eventually a wok, brown your eggplant and onion together. Add then the chopped garlic and keep cooking for about a minute.


3. Blend your tomatoes with a bit of water; no need to turn them into soup, just let the blender shred them. Add the tomatoes and the cubbed zucchini to the wok.

   

   Step 3

   Add the herbs and enough water to have all the ingredients soaked. Cook on low heat for about 20 mn, make sure to check on it often enough to avoid it burning.


4. If the sauce is still too liquid, turn on high heat and keep cooking until the sauce gets a thick.


5. Serve with rice or pasta or any meat or fish.

Variations:

You may add bell peppers to the preparation and / or replace the zucchini by eggplants as I did.

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Enjoy!

Cooking daddy