Ratatouille!!!

Nooo, not the movie!! The dish!!  But yes, I have seen the movie! The wife and I both loved it!  It was the movie that introduced Ratatouille, the dish, to us.  We vowed to try it one day.  Welp, my wife bought a vegetarian cookbook in a thrift store a couple of weeks ago and this recipe was in there and she made it for dinner tonight. I must say it was absolutely delicious!!!  A little expensive to make this time of year though as it calls for a LOT of veggies but still, it was soo good! We spent about $20 bucks on everything but some of that was for spices we didn't have. All the veggies were as fresh as you can get them from the grocery store.  You guys and gals definitely gotta try this! We substituted canned diced tomatoes for the fresh tomatoes. (Just couldn't find any good ripe tomatoes) We also opted out on the lemon peel garnish. The basil is used as a garnish also but I chopped it up and added it to mine. It was good before that but the basil was a very welcomed enhancement!  I've never had pine nuts before and man let me tell you those things are delicious and really set this meal off!  The best part about this is it's virtually a "FREE" food and very healthy to boot.  It's very low in calories, low in carbs (and they're complex at that), and it's got a decent amount of protein as well!  I looked for nutrition facts on dailyplate.com and I pasted the closest nutrition facts I could find. Here's the link: http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calories/food/generic /ratatouille_6045 Ratatouille - Serves 4 About 2 tablespoons of pine nuts 4 tablespoons of olive oil 1 medium-size onion, chopped 3 large clovers garlic, minced or pressed 1 teaspoon thyme leaves 1 small eggplant (about 3/4 lb.) unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1 large green or red bell pepper, seeded and chopped 2 cups spinach leaves 3 large tomatoes (about 1 lb. total), chopped 1/4 cup minced parsley salt and pepper fresh basil lemon wedges or grated lemon peel Place pine nuts in a pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until lightly browned (about 5 minutes). Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring, until onion is soft (about 3 minutes). Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, thyme, eggplant, and green pepper, and continue cooking. stirring occasionally, for 5 more minutes. Add zucchini, spinach, tomatoes, and parsley. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender (about 30 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot or room temperature. Garnish with basil and pine nuts and pass lemon wedges at the table. Makes about 4 cup Nutrition Facts Recipe Serves 4 people

Amount per Serving
Calories 65 Calories from Fat
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 1.37g	2%
Saturated Fat  0.07g	0%
Monounsaturated Fat  0.31g
Polyunsaturated Fat  0.1g
Sodium 12mg	0%
Potassium 376mg	11%
Total Carbohydrate 12.59g	4%
Dietary Fiber  3.55g	14%
Sugars  2.47g
Protein 11.78g	24%

Vitamin C	1.5
Calcium	3.5
Iron	0.5
Vitamin E	0.54
Thiamin (B1)	0.01
Riboflavin (B2)	0.01
Niacin (B3)	0.26
Vitamin B6	1.65
Phosphorus	10.5
Magnesium	5.5
Panthothenic Acid	0.12
Zinc	0.43
Manganese	0.1

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Est. Percent of Calories from:

Fat 19.0%     Carbs 77.5%

Protein 72.5%

Oh yes converted to that dish ages ago.  It is yummy.

I don't use spinach in mine. But sometimes I vary it and add mushrooms and /or slices of zucchini.  To ramp the taste up even more I sometimes sprinkle some dry chicken stock in, and have also been known to add chilli (but I do love hot foods...)

Absolutely delicious with a sirloin steak...  yummy

Pretty tasty for lunch added to a roll with lean pastrami and rocket if you have leftovers.

Em

oooooh sounds like summer!  Dh and I have some version of this a lot when zuccinis are in session. Pine nuts makes everything taste gooder.