Ratatouille

1/2 pound eggplant
1/2 pound zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 cups thinly sliced onion
2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced into strips
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 pound firm but ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded (sometimes I do not seed them and it still turns out great), cut into 1/4" thick strips
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Peel eggplant; cut lenthwise into 1/4" thick slices then cut into 3" long, 1" wide strips. Cut zucchini into same size strips. Place vegetables in large bowl; sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Let stand 30 minutes. Drain; dry with paper towels.

Heat 4 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add eggplant and zucchini to skillet; saute until light golden, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to plate; reserve.

Add 3 tbsp oil to skillet; heat over medim heat. Add onion and pepers; saute until just tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

Place tomato strips atop onion-pepper mixture in skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover skillet; cook over low heat until tomatoes begin to juice, about 5 minutes. Uncover; baste vegetables in skillet with juices. Boil until juices are almost evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer 1/3 of onion-pepper-tomato mixure to 2 1/2 quart pot; sprinkle with 1 tbsp parsley. Top with half of eggplant and half of zucchini, then 1/3 of onion-pepper-tomato mixture; sprinkle with 1 tbsp parsley. Top with remaining half of eggplant and zucchini and the remaining 1/3 of the onion-pepper-tomato mixture and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tbsp parsley. Cover; simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover; tilt pot and baste with pan juices until only 2 to 3 tablespoon juices remain in pot, watching closely to avoid scorching, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper.

I like to serve this delicious dish over whole wheat couscous.

Serving Size: serves 6

Number of Servings: 6

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user COUNTDOWNISON.