Meatless Monday: Quick and Easy Ratatouille

July 9, 2012

Ratatouille is the perfect way to use up yout summer garden vegetables.  In this quick and easy version all the vegetables are sauteed instead of being roasted in the oven.  Ratatouille is a great side dish to any grilled meat or can stand up on it's own as the main star.

Quick and Easy Ratatouille

Ingredients:

4 cloves garlic, minced and divided
1 small eggplant
2 small zucchini
1 pint mini heirloom tomatoes (cherry or grape tomatoes if you can't get heirloom)
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
 
Directions:
 
Slice your eggplant into 1/2 inch slices, set in a colander and salt. Let sit 15 minutes before rinsing, patting dry and then cutting into 1/2 inch cubes. Set aside.
 
Slice onion into 1/2 inch slices. Set aside.
 
Slice zucchini into 1/2 inch disks. Set aside.
 
Wash and dry tomatoes. Set aside.
 
Set one large heavy bottom pan to the side.
 
Place four medium sized pans over medium heat with one tablespoon of olive oil in each. Once hot, begin to saute onion in one pan, eggplant in another pan, zucchini in another pan and tomatoes in the last pan. You are going to add a clove of minced garlic and a pinch of sea salt and pepper to each pan near the last 2 minutes of cooking time:
 
Onion should be cooked until almost caramelized, about 16 - 18 minutes.
 
Eggplant should be cooked until very soft, about 16 - 18 minutes.
 
Zucchini should be soft and slightly browning (you might have to turn the heat up at the end for a couple minutes), about 14 - 16 minutes.
 
Tomatoes should be soft and almost to the point of breaking, about 8 -1 0 minutes.
 
Once all the vegetables are cooked and transferred to the large pan, set the large pan on medium heat and saute gently until warmed through. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary then serve.

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