Ratatouille

No, not the Disney movie with Rémy, the amazing cooking rat.

I made ratatouille for supper tonight, and the boys gobbled it up. I love making ratatouille. It is the perfect dish to use up all those vegetable growing old in the fridge. It’s versatile too; you can eat it over pasta, bread, quinoa, rice or all alone. And the house smells so, so good when you have ratatouille in the crock-pot. Especially on a rainy, fall day like today.

So, here’s my ratatouille dish. I combined all the elements that I loved from a few different recipes, and used the vegetables that I had on hand. You can do the same. Just use what you have (or want to get rid of). Why not give it a try, and turn dinner into a family fun night by following the dish by snuggling with the kids on the couch, and watching the Disney version.

Crock-Pot Ratatouille with Sausage

Ingredients:

• 4  very small eggplants, peeled and chopped
• 2 red peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 cup garbanzo beans (chick peas)
• 5 sausages, chopped (I used pre-cooked chicken and apple sausages from Costco. Yum!)
• 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine everything in the crock-pot, and stir well to mix. Cook on low 6-8 hours (depending on your crock-pot).

Voilà! Done. Serve over pasta and sprinkle with parmesan cheese (or whatever else you have. I used cheddar tonight). I add the sausage because Pierre is a meat-kinda-guy, but you can easily omit them for a vegetarian version. I’ve also made this recipe with zucchini or squash instead of (or with) eggplant. It really is an all-the-veggies-and-the-kitchen-sink kind of recipe.

Bon Appétit!

xo Naomi