Ratatouille – Not Like The Movie – but served in an omlette

When I was in college I lived off campus for two years with three roommates.  We each had responsibility to cook dinner for the house Monday through Thursday whether you were going to be eating there or not.  One of our roommates, Annie, was a vegetarian, so I was always searching for good ideas of what to make that we all would like as well as something that was inexpensive.

Ratatouille was a go to dish, but back then I made it with a ton of olive oil and served it covered in cheese.  It was vegetarian, but certainly was not healthy.  Since then I have discovered that both the oil and cheese were unnecessary to make a great dish.

Here is my much lighter version, which I used as the filling for an omelet.

1 large yellow onion diced

3 cloves of garlic minced

Pam

3 cups of diced eggplant

2 zucchini – diced

2 yellow squash – diced

1 red pepper – diced

1 15 oz. can chopped tomatoes (I have mentioned in previous recipes that fresh tomatoes are wasted on these cooked dishes, but if you are overwhelmed with fresh tomatoes go ahead and use them.)

30 fresh basil leaves chiffonade (That means finely cut)

Spray a big stockpot with Pam and place over Medium High heat.  Add the onions and the garlic and cook, stirring every 30 seconds, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Spray more Pam and add the eggplant.  Cook the same way for another 5 minutes.  Add all the other vegetables except the basil and cook another 5 minutes.  Add basil and salt and pepper.  Cook another five minutes.