French Comfort Food

I love this time of year. After months spent dreading turning on my oven or lighting my burners and adding to the heat, suddenly the warmth of a bubbling pot on the stove becomes the coziest and most desirable thing in the universe. Stews, soups, and chilis, along with all the variety of toppings are easy to fix, store great in the freezer, and can be made healthy without sacrificing flavor.

This week, I decided to make ratatouille, a traditional French stew. It’s full of vegetables and can be the main entree, a side dish, or even be used as a sauce!

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Ratatouille

4 tomatoes

4 cloves garlic

1 yellow onion

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 small eggplant

1 yellow bell pepper

½ bulb fennel

2 tbsp tomato paste

3 basil leaves

1 bay leaf

1 tsp thyme, dried

½ tbsp apple cider vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pot until it flows easily. Cut the eggplant into mediume dice and brown in the pot. While it browns, chop the bell pepper. When the eggplant is done, add the bell pepper and saute until brown spots appear on the skin. Roughly chop the zucchini, squash, and fennel. Remove browned bell pepper and add the zucchini, squash, and fennel to brown. Once that is done, set the veggie mix aside and add chopped onions. Saute until they are just translucent, then add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute or so. Add the cooked veggies, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf, and vinegar. Cook covered for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, add chopped basil and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for an additional 20 minutes.

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In the picture above, I simply served the ratatouille with quinoa for a little protein, topped with toasted pine nuts (because they make almost anything better!) and basil.

Serving suggestions:

• As a topping for quinoa with toasted pine nuts and basil
• As the base for pan sauteed fish or chicken
• Cooked together with some shrimp and served on top of a grain like rice or grits (Mix that French food with southern cuisine!)
• Layer generously over a thick fish like cod or salmon and bake at 400 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes
• Whereever your imagination takes you!