Summer’s Bountiful Ratatouille over Polenta Cakes
Serves 4-6
End of summer’s bounty is truly amazing~zucchini summer squashes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, onions garlic OY VEY!! Truly a flavor gasim when cooked down!
Ingredients:
1 eggplant ( a small globe, Italian, or Japanese) washed and peeled ~ Japanese eggplants don’t need peeling. (2 Cups diced)
1 small red bell pepper (1 C diced) (other colored peppers will work too)
2 summer squashes: 1 light green Mexican squash and 1 dark green zucchini (2 C diced)
3 C heirloom cherry tomatoes (save 1 cup for mashing)
1 C diced onions
1 C diced leek
1-2 C diced or sliced mushrooms (shiitake, Enoygi, or crimini)
3-4 mashed minced garlic
1 tsp Celtic Sea salt
1 Tsp Italian herb blend from Spice Hunter
Pinch or more, red chili pepper flakes
Fresh ground pepper
Olive Oil
Method:
In a large Dutch Oven or large soup pot, heat 2-3 Tbl. olive oil
Add all the diced, red bell pepper, onions, leeks, 3 garlic cloves, and mushrooms.
Cook down until browned and softened.
* Watch recipe video HERE!
Remove onion mixture from pan, and set aside. DO NOT CLEAN PAN.
Add 2 Tbl olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Brown the zucchini moons on both sides. Remove and set aside.
Add 2 Tbl olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Brown the eggplant chunks on both sides. Remove and set aside.
Add 1-2 Tbl olive oil, if needed, and add 2 C washed whole cherry tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes. While the tomatoes are cooking, take the remaining 1 C tomatoes and squish or mash, saving the juice. ADD to the tomatoes. Cook an additional 1 minute.
Now add everything back to the pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 15 minutes or more.
Serve over Polenta Cake and a nice garden salad.
(watch full recipe video here!)
Pictured below is when you dont separate all the vegetables and simply cook them down. It’s not AS colorful, but still tastes great.
Here is how it looks when you cook down each individual vegetable, then bring them together to simmer for a little longer and marry the flavors.
*To Make Polenta Cake click HERE!
Variation: Chicken Ratatouille
Once Ratatouille is done, remove the ratatouille from pot and set aside. Heat pot, NOT CLEANING, and add 4-5 chicken thighs. Season the chicken with garlic granules and white pepper. Brown on both sides, 2 minute a side. Put the ratatouille over the braised chicken, smothering the chicken under the ratatouille. Simmer for 15 minutes on low heat covered. Turn off heat and let rest until ready to serve. Serve over polenta cake, brown rice, gluten free noodles or AS IS.