Ratatouille

I told my friends Suzanne and Andrew that I would be posting recipes from all the veggies they sent me home with earlier last week. Here we go! I have been thinking about making ratatouille since the last time I had lunch at Renauds in Santa Barbara. I ordered an open faced sandwich of garlic bread topped with ratatouille (vegetable stew), grilled onions and melted Swiss cheese. It was one of the best things my mouth has ever tasted! I had all the vegetables and herbs I needed at home, there was no reason to not make this. I made things even easier and used my crock pot. What's even better about this recipe is that I can get so many different meals out of this. The first night, I had it by itself on top of cous cous, this morning I made frittatas with it, and tomorrow I am planning on recreating the Renauds sandwich with sourdough and provolone cheese. Mmmmmm, I can't wait till tomorrow's lunch! I don't think I will ever get sick of this stuff!

OK enough talking about it already, here is the recipe:

This was adapted from http://www.wordstoeatby.blogspot.com/

Slow Cooker Ratatouille

1 large eggplant (or 3 small Japanese eggplants), cut into 1-inch cubes

1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped

2 medium-to-large red, orange or yellow bell peppers, seeded and cut into big squares

1 14.5-ounce can of diced plum tomatoes, drained (I used the fire-roasted with basil kind)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

3-5 zucchini and or summer squash, ends trimmed, cut into thick rounds

1 can of garbanzo beans, or any white bean. (I actually used a .5 lb of a small green french bean I happened to have from my farmers market that needed using)

A large handful of fresh herbs (I used basil, thyme, and parsley, though I am sure a little rosemary would be nice as well.)

Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Freshly grated or shaved Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

Combine the eggplant, onion, bell peppers, tomatoes, and garlic in the slow cooker (mine is 5-quart oval).

Pour the olive oil over and toss to coat. Cover and cook on high 1 hour. Add summer squash and zucchini, cover, and cook another hour on high. Add beans, herbs, salt & pepper, and cook on high another half-hour to an hour. Place in a bowl and top with shaved Parmesan cheese and serve with some warm crusty french bread. You can also put this on top of cous cous, quiona, noodles, brown rice or roasted potatoes, etc........Enjoy!