If It's Good Enough for a French Mouse...

I got home from church today and decided to pop in a movie while I was eating lunch.  My DVD portfolio opened up to Pixar's Ratatouille, and I decided on it, figuring it would be a good no-brainer.  It was -- but it once again piqued my interest to try a new recipe.  (I had watched Julie & Julia a couple of times last week, and it *almost* made me want to go on Amazon and see if there were any used copies of Mastering the Art of French Cooking that I could get on the cheap.)  So, I went to my ever-expanding cabinet of cookbooks and started scanning.  And it turns out that my book opened itself up to -- I kid you not -- ratatouille.  I looked down the ingredient list, and derned if I didn't have every ingredient on the list in my house.  I figured I'd try something new, and I definitely was not disappointed.  I never thought I'd use these three terms in conjunction, but I actually found healthy, French comfort food.  Obviously, I had to share my find, so here's the recipe.

non-stick spray
1 large eggplant
2 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large red/yellow pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
1 zucchini/yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
salt/pepper to taste

1. Preheat and non-stick spray your grill.  Cut the eggplant into 3/4 inch slices, and season them with salt and pepper on each side.  Grill eggplant slices for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned.  Remove from the grill and cut slices into 3/4 inch cubes.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan and add onion.  Cook onion on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.  Add garlic, red/yellow pepper, and zucchini/squash and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the tomatoes, eggplant, herbs, and salt/pepper (if needed).  Cover and let simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Uncover and continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are tender and the liquid has thickened somewhat.  Serve ratatouille hot or at room temperature.

The recipe says that it serves 6, but all you really have to account for is the olive oil in the recipe.  It's wonderful.  If I weren't already full from lunch when I made it, I could have eaten the entire batch.  Also, I used my George Foreman grill for the eggplant, and it worked like a charm.  It got both sides at once, so it cut the grilling time in half.

Happy cooking!