Provencal Style Ratatouille

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 1/2 lbs eggplants
• 1 lb zucchini
• 1 lb bell pepper (red, green and yellow)
• 1 1/2 lbs tomatoes
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 onions
• 1 bouquet garni (a tied bundle of thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley stems)
• 1 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper

Recipe

• 1 in this first step, we will dice all vegetables and keep them separate. ice the eggplant and zucchini into 1/2 inch pieces and reserve them for later use. blanch the tomatoes for 45 seconds and cool them in an ice bath. when cooled enough to handle, peel them and remove seeds. dice tomatoes into 1/2 pieces and reserve them in a bowl. remove seeds from the bell peppers and dice them into 1/2 inch size. coarsely dice the onions. chop the garlic.
• 2 heat 1/2 cup of olive oil in a big sauce pan over medium high heat. sauté the eggplants for 6 to 7 minutes until colored. season them with salt and pepper and remove them with a slotted spoon.
• 3 clean the saucepan with paper towel. heat 1/4 cup of olive oil and sauté the zucchini for 5 to 6 minutes. season them and remove them as well. sauté the onions, garlic and bell peppers with the remaining olive oil for 5 minutes.
• 4 add the tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini and bouquet garni. cover the saucepan and lower heat to a simmer. let it simmer for 1 hour. check the seasoning and serve it warm.