Summer Vegetable Ratatouille

Thursday, June 29, 2010
We had a lot of vegetables piling up from our farm share and this was the perfect way to use them.  I used the slow cooker and threw it all in.  I added 1 cup of vegetable stock and two cans of garbanzo beans per recommendations on AllRecipes.com.  We served it on whole wheat cous-cous.  It was good, but a bit bland for our taste so we added some Creole spice to give it some kick.  Very good, but a lot of work in the prep - took over an hour to chop everything.

Summer Vegetable Ratatouille
2 onion, sliced into thin rings
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium eggplant, cubed
2 zucchini, cubed
2 medium yellow squash, cubed
2 green bell peppers, seeded and cubed
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 chopped red bell pepper
4 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
4 sprigs fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoon of the oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft. In a large skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and saute the zucchini in batches until slightly browned on all sides. Remove the zucchini and place in the pot with the onions and garlic. Saute all the remaining vegetables one batch at a time, adding 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet each time you add a new set of vegetables. Once each batch has been sauteed add them to the large pot as was done in step 2. Season with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaf and thyme and cover the pot. Cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and parsley to the large pot, cook another 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove the bay leaf and adjust seasoning.
* Recipe from AllRecipes.com by Rani