Ratatouille

I had never considered making Ratatouille before. It was just never on my radar, other than the kids' movie. One weekend, both Anne Burrell and Melissa d'Arabian both featured it on their shows. I was curious to try it. This recipe is a mix of both of their very different recipes. Apparently, Kroger didn't support my plans, seeing as how they were out of Eggplant. Normally, I convince them to sell me the organic at the regular price, but they didn't have any organic either. I gave the recipe a go without it. C turned up his nose initially, he thought it was all tomatoes. The tomatoes had melted into an amazing sauce. I guess his vinegar aversion wasn't in effect when we ate this, because he ate a ton. He kept sneaking more bites from the serving bowl.

Ratatouille

¼ cup olive oil, plus more as needed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small eggplant, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 small tomatoes, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 or 4 leaves fresh basil, chopped
Splash balsamic vinegar

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan or Dutch oven. Cook the vegetables one at a time (separately) for 5 to 7 minutes, adding a little more oil as needed and seasoning with salt, in the following order: eggplant, zucchini, pepper, onion, and tomatoes. Combine all of the cooked vegetables together in the pan, add the garlic, red pepper, and basil and let simmer gently for 20 minutes. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and then turn off the heat. Serve hot, warm, or cold.

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