Ratatouille

This weekend Dave and I headed to the movie Ratatouille (Rat-a-too-ee). I had to convince Dave to see it, but in the end I think he laughed harder than anyone in the theater. It's a great movie - fabulous food, great story, wonderful skyline views of Paris - what more can you ask for?

In case you weren't aware, Ratatouille isn't just a clever name - it's actually a famous French dish. 'Peasant' food to be exact. Though I've never had this dish in France, I have had something very similar in a small town in Turkey of all places. It's a wonderful dish that tastes like home. (You'll understand that even more if you've seen the movie)

Here's a recipe for the famed dish...

Olive oil

1 onion

1 clove garlic

1 eggplant

1 green bell pepper

2 zucchini

6 medium tomatoes, ripe (juicy) and peeled

salt and pepper to taste

Herbes de Provence to taste

Directions

Put a large casserole on the stove on medium heat. Chop the onions and garlic. When the casserole is hot, add enough olive oil to just cover the bottom. Add the onions and garlic and brown.

Chop the green pepper, zucchini and egg plant. Add to the casserole, stirring from time to time. Peel the tomatoes. Dice them or cut them into quarters, add to the casserole.

Five minutes later, check to see if the tomatoes have made enough juice to almost cover the vegetables. If not, add water as needed.

Add salt, pepper and Herbes de Provence to taste. Cover and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour.