Here is another simple but tasty French recipe. It involves using eggplant and some other vegetables. The whole dish can be prepared in about 1 hour or a little less. It is called ratatouille.
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons of olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons of dried parsley
- ½ cup of shredded fresh basil leaves
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
- ¼ teaspoon of fennel seeds
- 1 eggplant, cut into ½ inch cubes
- ¾ teaspoon of salt
- 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 zucchini squash, sliced
- 1 yellow squash, sliced
- 1 large onion, sliced into rings
- 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
- 8 large basil leaves
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 2 large tomatoes, chopped
Directions
Preheat your oven to 375 ºF (175 ºC). Using 1 tablespoon of olive, coat the sides and the bottom of a 1½ quart baking dish.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the sliced onion, the minced garlic, the parsley, the basil leaves, the oregano, the thyme, and the fennel seeds together in the olive oil. Add the eggplant cubes, the mushrooms, the bell pepper, the salt, and the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil. Cook for about 10 minutes until the eggplant becomes soft.
Spread one-third of the eggplant mixture across the bottom of the baking dish. Layer it with the yellow squash slices. Spread the second third of the eggplant mixture over the yellow squash. Layer it with the zucchini squash slices. Spread the rest of the eggplant mixture over the zucchini squash slices. Layer it with the chopped tomatoes. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese and some salt over it.
Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. After pulling it out of the oven, let it stand for about 5 minutes so that it cools. Serve and enjoy!
