Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a mixture of end of summer vegetables from the garden. I made a batch last week and it was so good I decided to make another large batch and can it up. It is great warmed up and served on pasta, brown rice or couscous. Sometimes I add sweet Italian sausage to it but I really like it as a meatless meal. Freshly shredded parmesan cheese really tops it off well. I purchase shredded parmesan cheese at Costco and keep it in the freezer. A handful mixed into the ratatouille so that it melts to me is a perfect dinner. Make some flakey biscuits and you will have a meal fit for the finest guests!

Ratatouille

1 medium onion chopped
2 medium bell peppers cubed
1 medium zucchini cubed
2 medium tomatoes cut into chunks
4 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. each basil, marjoram
½ tsp oregano
Dash of ground rosemary
1 cup red wine
½ cup tomato juice
2 tbs tomato paste
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
¼ cup olive oil
Freshly chopped parsley

Heat olive oil in large heavy cooking pot. Crush the garlic into the oil. Add bay leaf and onion, salt lightly. Sauté over medium heat until onion begins to turn transparent.

Add eggplant, wine and tomato juice. Stop and have a taste of the wine to be sure it is alright. Add herbs. Stir to mix well, then cover and simmer 10-15 minutes. Add salt and pepper, tomatoes and tomato paste. Mix well. Continue to stew until all vegetables are tender. Just before serving mix in parsley.

Now don’t be limited by this great recipe from The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. Add more of any vegetables and just add more liquid to be sure it all stews. Use what you have in the garden. Last batch I made was huge and I added a half a bottle of wine! Maybe that is why it was sooooooo good.

Today’s batch is huge. I used a variety of veggies and even added two cans of diced tomatoes to the garden tomatoes I picked. The result is a flavorful mixture of veggies, wine and herbs. I pressure canned it in quart jars for 75 minutes at 11 pounds pressure.