Vegetarian Diaries: Ratatouille Recipe

I haven't done a Vegetarian Diaries post in awhile and thought I would write about my favorite dinner (and favorite chef).

Nick took a cooking class his last semester in High School.  The class was called Senior Foods.  When I first heard the name, I thought it was a class about what senior (citizens) eat.  Not exactly something I expected him to take.  He could just go visit his grandparents during meal times and figure that out, right?  At parent orientation night, I got to hear the teacher describe the class and tell us about all of the yummy recipes they were going to make over the semester.  I have to admit, I was pretty jealous.

I feel that all kids need to know some basics in cooking, especially boys.  I started them off with making spaghetti.  They learned how to boil water and warm up a jar of pasta sauce.  I figure if they can do this, they can feed themselves (or make their wife dinner once in awhile).  I know what you're thinking.  "A jar of spaghetti sauce?"  I believe they have to start somewhere.  As time goes on, they learned to add things to the jar of sauce.  Give them more time and they learned to make their own sauce.

One night, Nick was hanging around in the kitchen with me while I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner.  He saw that I had an eggplant and said, "Why don't you make Ratatouille?"  I said that I didn't know how to make it.  That's when the fun began.  Nick started chopping and sautéing and in minutes I had a delicious bowl of Ratatouille sitting in front of me.  Hands down, the best meal ever.  And, to top it off, made by my favorite chef.  :)

I tried recreating what Nick did (I was watching, but, not writing anything down).  When that didn't turn out, I decided to search online and I found this recipe here on Food.com.  You will find that it's pretty easy and it's really delicious!

Ratatouille

recipe taken from food.com

Ingredients:

5 Tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 eggplant, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
6 mushrooms, quartered
 1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/3 cup red wine
2 cups canned tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot heat oil. Add garlic, onion, bell pepper, eggplant, zucchini and mushrooms. Saute, uncovered, until vegetables are softened. About 10minutes.
2. Add oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 1 minute.
3. Add wine and bring to boil.
4. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered over low heat for 30-40minutes. 
5. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

Maybe you have your own favorite chef to make this for you?  If not, give it a try.  It's a simple recipe and it's worth it!

Enjoy!