Ratatouille recipe

As Fall kicks in here in the Midwest, Gardners are frantically looking for people to give their zucchini to. You see them coming with a bag and you want to run, right? I LOVE the produce from local Farmers markets, and overflow from friends gardens this time of year. There are a lot of salsa makers out there, so I'm sticking to salsa verde made from tomatillos, freezing my peppers & making jam and jelly if I feel good.

When you have too many of anything it can become cumbersome if you don't can, or are tired of it. If you've never made Ratatuille, it is kind of a French vegetable stew, but that doesn't describe it properly. I'd say it's a medley of veggies when made properly is great fresh, can be eaten cold, and is an even better leftover. Though it is a vegetarian recipe, it is hearty and eats like a meal, or can be a side dish.

I have a basic recipe and then add for larger batches. 

The trick to ratatouille is to lightly sauté then sweat each of the vegetable sets and spices separately to get them to cook down. Then you put them in a bowl and do the next batch. Eventually they all end up back in the pot and you add the tomatoes and let it simmer. It might sound time consuming, but it's not a ton of effort. I will list my basic ingredients coupled in order as to which ones I cook together.

NOTE: I have heard you can cook them all together, but they will lose their shape and texture and I've never tried it.

For seasonings: salt, pepper, coriander, cumin, crushed bay leaves, oregano...and the **key secret ingredient is added near the end: fresh lavender from your local health food store.

iNGREDIENTS

• About ½ cup olive oil
• 1 eggplant with skin on, into 1-inch sized cubes ( 4 cups)
• 3 medium zucchini  cut in 1-inch cubes (3 cups) ( half if using other squash like yellow)
• 2-3 onions depending on size. sliced or julienne :5-6 cloves garlic; peeled, crushed, minced  (about 1 tablespoon)
• 2–3 green ( or variety colored) peppers cut into 1-inch squares ( 3 cups)
• 4–5 well-ripened tomatoes; peeled, halved, and coarsely cubed (4 cups)
• 2 tsp lemon or lime juice
• ½ cup water
• 2 teaspoons salt ( to taste) 
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Additional seasonings : crushed bay leaves, cumin, oregano, coriander, *fresh lavender 

Directions

1. Heat ¼ cup of the oil in Big skillet. 
2. First sauté the eggplant cubes, ( 5-9 minutes or so ; remove with slotted spoon and transfer to a large bowl.. (The eggplant absorbs most oil while cooking than the other vegetables.) 
3. Then sauté the zucchini  until browned, about 8 minutes. Then put those in the bowl. 
4. Add about ¼ cup more oil to the pan and sauté the onions, garlic and peppers together for at least  6 minutes. leave these in the skillet, or get a bigger saucepan if they won't all fit. 
5. Add the tomatoes,, water, salt, and pepper ( and your seasonings) to the pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat, squirt in lime or lemon juice, COVER and cook over low heat for 1 hour. Check it often. It's okay to stir, but don't stir too much or it will be mushy. Reduce heat as needed. It just needs to simmer. 
6. Remove the cover, increase the heat to medium, and cook another 20 minutes, uncovered, to reduce some of the liquid; stir only to prevent scorching. Add about 1/4 c fresh lavender and cook about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.  Let it sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. So all tastes are melded well.